Cost of a Glance
by Buffelyn
Summary: Murdered by her Medjai lover the night before her wedding, Nefertiri's legend has been obscured by history and painful memories...a twist on the ancient love story...Chapter 30 is up!!!! ~~FINISHED~~ Merci to everyone:):):) ~Buff
1. Lovers Past

"I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times,  
in life after life, in age after age forever."  
**...Rabindranath Tagore**

Three thousand years ago, a forbidden love blossomed under the desert sky, and the fate of a kingdom hung in the balance...and no, the lovers weren't everyone's favorite mummies. We all know Evy's lived before, but how could she have gone without Rick?!? My answer is...she couldn't have. That balcony was on the second story, you know! Imhotep, Anck-su-namun, and Seti, as well as other familiar faces, will play pivotal roles as well. So pop "Come Back Evy" in the stereo (damn that's a sad song!) or, my personal favorite and inspiration, "A Thousand Years" by Sting (how perfect does that fit!:), sit back, and enjoy... Oh yeah, contains spoilers for TMR, like you couldn't figure that one out. 

Love, tragedy, intrigue, sex, murder, betrayal, destiny...all packaged together in one giant sweeping epic...

Disclaimer: I don't own the creations of Stephen Sommers, obviously...I did make up all of the other Egyptian characters, though, so please don't take them. That'd just be mean:)~

Note: This story plays off the past-life inferences Imhotep made in "Live and Let Die," though it's not necessary to read that one (but of course you should because it's brilliant:)

Okay, I'll shut up already! On with the story! Enjoy, and of course, REVIEW:) 

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The Cost of a Glance

Chapter 1

Lovers Past

__

Two beings came together in an indigo fog. The chorus of "I love you"s was drowned out only by the serene silence of the place. They held each other tightly and waited for their fate to come and collect them. 

1933 A.D.: 

Ardeth Bey looked out across the desert expanse and sighed. If anyone had been near, they might have thought he was dying, the sigh carried so much angst. The Medjai leader was not one for tears, and so he expressed his grief in other, more subtle ways...or, in a tight spot, a fight to the death. 

It had taken them three days to properly bury all the corpses, and the blazing heat had not made the task any prettier. Everyone was grateful, at least, that they didn't have to deal with the bodies of the Anubis warriors, too. Ardeth didn't think he could have left his brothers there if they had been surrounded by that filth. 

He could never relax his guard; Imhotep had proved that, but he was still extremely thankful to be heading home. Perhaps he'd take a few days off, rest a while, let others make decisions for once. With a snort, Ardeth dismissed the idea, knowing he could never bring himself to do that. The duty had become so ingrained in him that without it, he was nothing. 

His mind wandered to the events of the previous week, again. Sheer terror, intense sadness, complete joy...he had certainly run the gamut of emotions. Ardeth wondered how his friends were holding up. It was a miracle that, as far as he could tell, they'd all made it out so unharmed. He made up his mind to try and catch them before they left Cairo. Over the years he'd become quite attached to them, especially little Alex. He could even admit a certain fondness for Jonathan, if pressed. 

Mostly, though, he was worried about Rick and Evy. She seemed to handling the news of her reincarnation quite well, but Rick...stubborn as he was, he was likely to take his newly found sacred duty too lightly. Yes, he'd have to see them as soon as possible. 

As Ardeth approached the little apartment the O'Connells kept in Cairo, the shouting he heard seemed to shake the walls. He ran the rest of the distance down the hallway, bursting through the doorway and through the front room, following the racket. As he stumbled to the back, scimitar at the ready, he found Rick and Evelyn standing at opposite sides of the room, yelling their heads off, in the middle of a rather heated dispute. Tears streaked down Evelyn's face, Rick's hands waved wildly in the air. They both stopped short when they saw him. Against all odds, Ardeth blushed. 

"I am sorry to intrude, but I thought perhaps there was trouble." 

"No trouble at all," Evy said quietly. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," he said curtly, returning to his usual unflappable self. "I just wanted to check on you, see that everyone was all right."

"Oh, we're just fine. Everything is right as rain in the O'Connell household," Evy spat as she brushed quickly past Ardeth. He could still hear her muttering to herself as she disappeared down the hallway. 

"Please forgive me, my friend. I did not realize-"

"Don't worry about it." Rick plopped down in a chair and ran a hand through his sandy brown hair. He looked utterly defeated, as if his world was crumbling down around him. Little did Ardeth know how correct his analogy was. "How are things with the Medjai?" Rick asked, trying to change the subject. 

Ardeth did not protest. He was not one to pry. "We have just now returned from Ahm-Shere." 

Rick looked like he was about to throw up. "God, can't anyone talk about anything else?" he cried. "All I hear is Bracelet of Anubis this and Nefertiri that-" 

"Is Evy struggling with the memories?"

"No, she's..." Rick's face darkened. "Oh, that's right...I suppose no one told you." 

"Told me what?" 

The look on Rick's face was now one of pain. He grew quiet. Ardeth let him sit. Then, after a few minutes, he said, "She died."

"What?" Evy died? "You mean Nefertiri?"

Rick shook his head. "No, Evy. Anck-su-namun killed her." 

"But, she is--I mean--"

"Oh, she's fine now. She says she is, anyway. Alex..." he trailed off, wincing at the memories. "Alex resurrected her, with the Book. She died, Ardeth. She died, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it."

Ardeth was at a loss. The shock was evident on his face, so Rick continued. "She stabbed her. Right in front of my face, and I couldn't...she died in my arms. Do you know what that's like, to see your life draining away before you, and to be totally helpless?" 

Ardeth shook his head, slowly. The final piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. "No," he said. "But I think you do." 

Now it was Rick's turn to be confused. Hadn't he just said that? What did he have to do, sing it? 

"You are a Medjai, Rick, there is no doubt. And if you are who I think you are..." Ardeth let the silence flow into the room, let it envelope the two men, let it slowly fill in the space until there was nothing left. 

As Rick's head dropped, he could hear a faint voice, Ardeth's, chanting unfamiliar words that he somehow understood...

"Evelyn."

Evy jumped at the sound of Ardeth's voice, breaking her sharply out of her daydream. She'd been able to contain the tears, and now what was left was a sort of quiet rage. How dare Rick say those things about her visions? She knew she was right. In the past few days she had read more about Nefertiri than she thought was possible, even for her, and she was certain her suspicions were correct. If Rick were unwilling to believe them, so be it. That was his problem. Maybe she could find a kinder ear in her old Medjai friend. 

"You are troubled," he said simply. 

"Yes," she replied, and could barely go on. Her throat constricted painfully as she tried to choke out the words. "I've been reading a lot about Nefertiri, lately. About her life, about her...death."

Ardeth nodded, as if he somehow knew exactly what she was talking about. 

"You've heard the stories, I'm sure." 

He did not nod this time. "I have heard many versions, Evy. Which one do you believe?"

It was easier now, somehow. "She was killed by her lover, shortly before her wedding. Murdered. That seems to be the general consensus, though her story is not exactly well known." The tears threatened again. "I think he killed me, Ardeth. I think Rick killed me. Rick refuses to believe it. You said he was a Medjai, and I think he...I just have this feeling." She was now almost down to a whisper. "I know he was there with me, I could feel his presence in my visions, somehow, I...I knew that he would be there to comfort me, later on, after the battle, after my father died...and then he murdered me." 

"I believe you." He hated to say the words, he could see that it hurt her so. "But you have not heard the true account of the story. The one my people have passed on for generations, as one of our most beloved love stories." 

"Love stories, ha," she said derisively. "He loved me all right. Loved me so bloody much he killed me." 

Evelyn understood Ardeth's words. What she couldn't understand was how it seemingly got so quiet, all at the same time...

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Let me know if you want more:)...the next chapter will move into ancient times...


	2. Eye of the Beholder

Damn, I love you guys. THANK YOU!!! Keep reviewing, and I promise (or at least I hope;) you won't be disappointed. To concerned citizens such as marrokinhas and MBooker...read what Ardeth said very closely and remember you're talking to a huge Rick/Evy devotee here, okay? To say any more would give away the story...*cackles evilly*

Just to avoid confusion, I should tell you that Rick's name in ancient times is Achsu-rai. He's Rick, not Ardeth, okay?!? (I agree completely Seletha, Evy with anyone but Rick is just WRONG!:) Don't worry, though, Ardeth's here, too:)

If anyone catches the line from Buffy (Tigerwolf!), kudos to you:) Don't own that, either. That genius Joss Whedon does. 

Chapter 2

Eye of the Beholder

1290 B.C.: 

She caught his eye across the crowded room. He bowed slightly, a bit caught off guard to see her staring at him. They both turned away, brushing off the incident. That might have been the last of it. 

Throughout the night, she found herself scanning the crowd, searching desperately for that pair of eyes. She knew she'd seen _him_ before, but she'd never seen those _eyes_, looked into them. She wanted desperately to study them, to drink them in, get lost. She'd never seen anyone's eyes so blue, and she'd been thirty feet away. 

As he stood by the door, aloof to his surroundings, those eyes followed her as she traversed the room, dancing, laughing, sneaking furtive glances this way and that. He knew she was looking for him. Why? They'd seen each other many times. Why was she suddenly so interested in him? Just another mystery to add to the list about that woman. 

The night ended, the party over. She took her father's arm and exited the room, before everyone else, and walked past the man at the door. He wouldn't look at her. 

She returned to her room and wept. 

Nefertiri struggled to keep her eyes open as she listened to her father drone on and on. She was sure half the court was nodding off, too, but it would not do for the princess to fall asleep in the middle of the pharaoh's address. She forced a smile onto her face as the court applauded the long-awaited conclusion of the speech. Now they could get on with the last day of the festivities. Not that those would be much better. Lately Nefertiri was having trouble masking her impatience with these endless celebrations. She'd tried to explain to Anck-su-namun how she felt, but her friend had just eyed her strangely and offered to switch lives with her. Nefertiri wished it was that simple. She felt like she was suffocating in the incredible weariness of this life, her life. 

As the applause went on (and on, and on), Nefertiri found herself once again catching the eye of that Medjai. He looked startled to see her, as if he hadn't known she was there. No one ever knew she was there. She could have been invisible and didn't doubt it would be weeks before her own father noticed she was gone. 

Anck-su-namun tugged on the princess' sleeve as the room began to empty. "Nefertiri, come on. You have to get ready." Nefertiri didn't resist as she was pulled away from the stare of the Medjai, but paused just before they got to the door. 

"Anck, who is that man? The one standing next to father?"

For some reason unknown to Nefertiri, her companion actually blushed. "Why, that is the High Priest of Osiris-"

"I know Imhotep. I mean the Medjai."

Anck-su-namun seemed relieved. "Of course. He is called Achsu-rai. His father is ill, and will soon pass away, so he is to be named leader of the twelve tribes."

"But he is so young."

"He is very brave; he has won many battles."

"A warrior, then."

"What else would you have the Medjai be?" Now her tone seemed bitter. 

"Is something wrong, Anck-su-namun?" 

"No. What could be wrong?" She plastered a smile onto her pretty face and began to steer the princess out of the room. "We must prepare for the banquet." 

"You like him," Nefertiri declared as soon as they were out of hearing distance. 

"Achsu-rai?" Anck-su-namun snorted. "You have got to be joking!" 

"No, Imhotep!"

Anck-su-namun's eyes widened and her face turned white. "Whatever gave you that idea?" she protested, too loudly. "I don't know what you're talking about!" 

"You like him," Nefertiri repeated, softly. "I can tell. And I saw him looking at you, too." This wasn't the first time she had noticed the attraction between the two. She often saw Imhotep watching them, and he certainly wasn't looking at the princess. 

"That's ridiculous. A high priest in love with a servant. Whoever heard of such a thing?" Her tone was scornful, but Nefertiri got the impression that the only one Anck-su-namun was trying to convince was herself. 

"Who said anything about love?"

"I didn't say anything about anything. Let's go."

"You should read books more often, Anck," she pressed. "It happens all the time in fiction."

"Exactly. Fiction. That's all it is. Get your head out of the clouds, Nefertiri. You've got more of a chance with that Medjai." 

"She's very beautiful, isn't she?"

"What?" Achsu-rai turned to face the high priest. The room was almost empty by now; even the pharaoh had gone. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the princess' servant wrench Nefertiri out of his sight. 

"Nefertiri. She is growing up into a very beautiful woman," Imhotep said. 

"Of course." Achsu-rai had never liked the high priest. He avoided conversation with Imhotep whenever possible, but he supposed now he would be forced to confer with him more often. As the pharaoh's two closest advisors, they were expected to get along. 

"Something troubles you, Achsu-rai," Imhotep pushed. 

"Thank you for your concern, but nothing troubles me."

Imhotep smiled, as if he knew better. "If you say so." 

With that, the priest turned and left Achsu-rai to himself in the now empty room. The man was insufferable, but he also always right. As if Achsu-rai would ever tell Imhotep what he was thinking. He himself didn't understand what he was thinking. 

He was fairly sure, however, that Nefertiri had a lot to do with it. 

Nefertiri pulled at the uncomfortable headband that Anck-su-namun had insisted she wear. Thank goodness occasions like these intolerable banquets came only a few times a year. Her father had hinted that a certain wedding banquet might be coming soon, too...Nefertiri shuddered at the thought. She had no desire to marry, much less anyone her father was likely to choose for her. Every night before Nefertiri went to sleep, she recited in her head the fairy tale her mother had used to tell her at bedtime...a magical story about a beautiful princess falling head over heels for a handsome prince...She supposed it wasn't realistic, but her dreams were the only thing Nefertiri felt she could still hold onto. They were the only thing in her life she had control over anymore. 

Her father was seated first, followed by all of her siblings by their ages. Nefertiri was the eldest child present. It was hard to keep track of her brother Ramses. Seti was rather proud of his son, always off defending the honor of his kingdom. Nefertiri, however, suspected that Ramses was not exactly the upstanding citizen their father pictured him as...he was just as likely to be hanging around his camp drinking with his friends than fighting the enemy. She missed her brother desperately, though, and would never do anything to tarnish his reputation in her father's eyes. 

A movement beside Nefertiri startled her out of her musing. It was that Medjai, calmly taking his place at the banquet table beside her. "Achsu-rai," she managed to choke out. He looked surprised at her statement. "Princess," he replied, nodding, and preceded to completely ignore her for the next hour. 

Torture! Nefertiri complained loudly inside her head. She _hated_ these banquets. No one ever talked to her, though she sat at the head of the table with all of the important dignitaries. Normally she could have stood the insufferable hours, but today the mere minutes seemed to taunt her. Since no one was paying attention to her, though, the princess was free to study Achsu-rai. How had she never before noticed his eyes? They were the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. Eyes like that just didn't happen in Egypt. And his arms...those were good arms to have, Nefertiri thought silently. She wondered what all the tattoos meant. Reminders of battles won? Battles lost? "Warrior for God," she murmured under her breath.

"What?" Achsu-rai had turned toward her now. "What did you say?"

"Oh, um-" Nefertiri sputtered, face turning red. "I was just looking at your tattoos. Warrior for God, on your forehead."

"You know what they mean?"

"Of course. I do know how to read." 

"You read?" Achsu-rai asked, so incredulously that Nefertiri was almost insulted. "Yes," she replied haughtily, regaining some of her icy composure. "I wouldn't expect a Medjai to understand." 

"Oh, I understand the written word perfectly, Princess. It is the spoken word that sometimes deceives me," he said, with a pointed look at Imhotep. 

The priest seemed not to notice, his attention still on the pharaoh. "Women have no place in the scholar's world," he said. "Teaching them to read is nonsense."

"What a shame you feel that way, Imhotep," Nefertiri interjected angrily. "Because I was going to tell you that the last proposal you wrote to my father was pure--"

"That's enough, Nefertiri," her father chastised. "Now, Imhotep, about the new addition to the south side of the temple..."

Once again they were absorbed in matters of policy and politics, and Nefertiri had lost center stage. "Excuse me," she muttered as she pushed out from the table and ran as fast as she could out of the banquet hall. No one noticed...

...except Achsu-rai. 

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REVIEW and make Buffelyn a very happy girl. When she's happy, she updates:)

Merci to mithwith for putting up with my obsessive behavior over this story:)


	3. Curse of the Scorpion

Thanks so much for the reviews everyone:) Some notes for some of my marvelous reviewers.... Mija: I was puzzled at what prompted your comment until I reread the chapter and realized what I'd done. The line "warrior for God" was taken from what the Medjai tattoos supposedly meant in TM, and rest assured it was a silly oversight and I'm well aware of the structure of ancient Egyptian religion:).... Evy: Nobody's dead (in 1933), much less Evy. She was referring to their past life. And no, she's not half-half either, she's just Evy (at least in 1933;) Interesting angles, but they would each make for another whole story altogether.....Cracklyn: be patient!!! Love ya:)

And now, on with the show...

Chapter 3

Curse of the Scorpion

"You called for me, my pharaoh?" asked Achsu-rai from the doorway. 

"Yes, yes," said Seti as he rose from the couch. A servant was still fussing with his headpiece. "I am worried about my daughter," said the pharaoh as he shooed the servant away. "Nefertiri has not been herself lately. She has grown disinterested in all the things that used to bring her joy. I want to help her, but I don't know how. I want my daughter back, Achsu-rai."

The Medjai leader thought for a moment before he responded to the pharaoh. Seti would indeed take his suggestions seriously, but it would not do to criticize his favorite child. He spoke slowly, deliberately. "Perhaps what Nefertiri needs is some responsibility. Something to give her purpose." 

"You think I should find her a husband?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Achsu-rai was unsure why this thought unsettled him so. "With the training she is receiving, she will someday be a great warrior. Perhaps she could be entrusted with a duty, to give her something to do. Something to think about."

"I like that," Seti said, without a moment's reflection. "Might you suggest something?"

Achsu-rai paused again. "Perhaps the Bracelet of Anubis?" he responded hesitantly. "Its protector has just passed away."

"Perfect!" Seti cried. 

"Now, my pharaoh, she may not be ready-"

"Three months," he insisted. "Three months more of training and she will be ready. I shall announce it then."

"As you wish," the Medjai said as Seti dismissed him. Guarding the Bracelet was not a strenuous task, and he felt confident that the Princess, even one as spoiled as Nefertiri, could handle it. It wasn't as if there was anyone who would attempt to steal it. He could have just left it in a locked room for all eternity and no one would even know it was there. 

Achsu-rai found Nefertiri in her room, perched precariously on the window sill. He had an urge to tell her to get down from there, from such a dangerous spot, but he held it in. 

"I must speak with you, Princess," he said instead. That really was a risky place to sit. 

"I suppose my father sent you," she replied ruefully, still staring out the window. 

"Yes, in a way." 

"No one ever talks to me because they feel like it. My father always makes them."

"You've never given me a reason to talk to you," Achsu-rai replied after some thought. "Yesterday was the first time I'd actually heard sound come from your mouth."

Nefertiri turned from her exterior view at last and wobbled a bit on the sill as she saw who was there. "Achsu-rai!" she exclaimed. "I didn't realize it was you!"

"Princess, you're sitting in a very unsafe spot. I must insist that you get down from there."

"I can take care of myself," she retorted huffily, leaning backwards out the window just to tease him. "I thought it was your job to protect my father, not me."

"I don't think he'd be too happy with me if I let his daughter fall to her death from her window."

"Oh, come on, I sit here all the time," said Nefertiri as she placed a hand on the window frame and leaned back further. 

By this time Achsu-rai had nearly crossed the room. She really was making him nervous. If anything ever happened to her...

If anything ever happened to her, what? The pharaoh would be sad, the kingdom would mourn, and then everyone would go on with their lives. Why had the princess suddenly become so central in Achsu-rai's mind? 

Lost in this thought, he almost didn't notice when suddenly her firm grip on the window frame slipped and she bobbed precariously on the edge of the sill. Achsu-rai was there in an instant, pulling her back inside, placing her firmly on the safe ground. "I told you so," he said. 

At this, Nefertiri balked. She drew out of his arms and narrowed her eyes in anger. _Bad move_, Achsu-rai thought silently. He never could seem to say the right thing when it came to women. Not that there'd been many, anyway. As his father's eldest son, his responsibility had always been to the pharaoh, to the tribe...he'd never had time for anything else. 

"What do you want?" Nefertiri asked. 

"Your father has entrusted you with a great responsibility, Princess. If you are to accept it, you must train hard."

"What responsibility?" Nefertiri asked suspiciously. 

"In six months time, you are to be named protector of the Bracelet of Anubis." 

Nefertiri's mouth fell open in astonishment. She closed it with a snap. "I'm--I'm--My father did what?" 

"He thought you needed some responsibility in your life, and I suggested the Bracelet. It will be announced in six months time."

She was still at a loss for words. "I can't believe...really? I didn't think my father would ever...he trusts me?" she asked, with so much hope reflected in her eyes, Achsu-rai hated to tell her the truth. He suspected what the pharaoh had been looking for was a quick fix, rather than a long-term solution. 

"Of course," he lied. "Why else would he give you such a great responsibility?"

"I..." she trailed off. "Thank you. This is...this is incredible. Thank you."

"I didn't do anything."

"But you said you suggested it. Apparently my father takes your advice seriously. I didn't think he ever listened to anyone but Imhotep."

Achsu-rai could not keep the sour expression off his face. "Perhaps that will soon change." 

"You don't like Imhotep very much, do you?"

"He is your father's most respected advisor."

"You didn't answer my question." 

Achsu-rai was confident, for some reason, that whatever was said between him and the princess would be confidential. She wouldn't betray his trust. He was still unsure, however, of how much he should say about his dislike for the priest. "We do not always agree on matters of policy."

"What about matters of life?"

"Those too," Achsu-rai said with a smile. Nefertiri had never seen him smile before. It was not something he had cause to do often, but it suited him. Then, in a flash, the smile was gone, replaced by the usual stern expression. 

"You should smile more often," she told him. "You're very handsome when you smile." 

"That is not usually my main concern in life."

"Well, I _order_ you to smile more."

The smile returned, but it was forced. "Your wish is my command, Princess." 

He turned to leave, but Nefertiri stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Please. Call me Nefertiri."

"Goodbye, Princess," Achsu-rai intoned as he pulled away from Nefertiri's grip. 

"Goodbye, Achsu-rai," she sighed as she watched the retreating Medjai saunter out the door and away. For some reason unknown to her, a single tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it away angrily and tried to push that damned Medjai out of her mind.

--

It's a bit short, but events have to build before things get _really_ interesting;) Review...review...review...


	4. Fool Me Once

MBooker...I LOVE YOU!!! You are the bestest reviewer in the whole wide world:):):) 

Also many thanks to all of my loyal fans:)

Tigerwolf, I'm disappointed;)--it was the arms reference in chapter 2. I'll let you know if I put in any more:)

You guys, stop worrying. Do you really think Achsu-rai would just cold-bloodedly kill his one true love? There's gotta be extenuating circumstances...but Nefertiri's murder is not going to happen for a long, long while, so just calm down and enjoy the story. Bwahahahaha, I'm just evil, ain't I? (but not _that_ evil;) 

Chapter 4

Fool Me Once

By the next morning, Nefertiri had grown tired of dwelling on Achsu-rai and decided to seek out her father. This was not necessarily an easy task, potentially requiring several hours of one's time. Seti loved the natural light and so moved his entourage of servants from one room to another throughout the day, making it very difficult to track him down. She finally found him tucked in a far corner of the throne room, pretending to study a daily report from his general but really only contemplating the pattern of light the crystal goblets created when set on the windowsill. Nefertiri gave her father an affectionate kiss on the cheek and remarked, "What an easy hiding spot you have chosen today, father."

"Ah, daughter, what a delightful surprise. Walk with me."

Nefertiri took her father's arm and they began to amble slowly out through the balcony and into the morning sun.

"Father, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the honor you have bestowed on me. I will not let you down."

"I know. I trust you will train hard."

"Yes, father."

"Nefertiri, I have another matter to discuss with you. About this little hobby of yours, the books?"

"What do you mean?"

"You need to be concentrating on your training, not losing your head in silly fantasies."

"It's not all fiction, father, mostly it's history!" she protested. 

"Still, I want you to stay out of the library. From now on you are to focus on your duties as my daughter and as the protector of the Bracelet." 

"But father--"

"No buts, Nefertiri, I have made my decision. Now, I also wanted to ask you, that servant of yours--oh, what is her name?"

Nefertiri barely comprehended her father's words as she withdrew her arm from his and raced away from him. Not read? How could she survive? How was such a thing possible? The written word was like a lifeblood to her, like air, like water. It allowed her an escape from the tedium that consumed her days and the agony that marked her nights. Why, the first thing she'd done upon speaking with Achsu-rai about the Bracelet was to go to the library and devour every manuscript she could find on the subject. Nefertiri had never been one to defy her father's commands, but despite her good-girl nature, she felt a rebellion rising inside her. Seti couldn't do this to her, he just couldn't...

A whirl of flashing gold and bronzed skin fought its way across the long room, pausing every so often to shift the advantage from one to the other, only stopping when they'd reached the far wall. The taller one quickly tripped her opponent and deftly maneuvered the tridents out of the younger girl's hands. 

"You are too fast," the loser panted as her teacher offered a hand to help her up. 

"So be faster," Anck-su-namun replied cryptically. 

"That's your lesson? Be faster?"

"I know you can do it, Nefertiri. Stop letting your emotions show in your fighting. I could tell you were mad about something. You must be calm. Only then will you be able to beat me."

"Thanks, teach." The princess spotted her father on the far end of the room. With an icy smile she acknowledged his presence as he clapped enthusiastically for their performance. "Bravo!" he shouted, giving his daughter a cheerful wave and exiting the training room, a trail of servants and Medjai following close behind. Nefertiri noticed with unease how her father's eyes had lingered on Anck-su-namun as he passed. What was it about that the woman that men found so fascinating? First Imhotep, now the pharaoh...Nefertiri dismissed these thoughts quickly. With a genuine smile she noted that Achsu-rai had also attended the practice. He hung back from Seti's entourage, throwing a charming but somehow tense smile her way as she and Anck-su-namun gathered their belongings. 

"You haven't been sleeping, have you?" Anck-su-namun asked the princess, drawing her attention away from the Medjai. 

"How can you tell?"

"Please, Nefertiri. You snap at everyone, you're always complaining that you're tired--"

"All right, all right. What's a little insomnia?"

"I can mix something for you if you like," Anck-su-namun offered. 

"Please, Anck, you know I don't hold with your silly herbal concoctions."

"Suit yourself," Anck-su-namun shrugged. "Just don't come crying to me when you doze off in the middle of practice and fall on your own sword." 

What was it about the princess that he found so mesmerizing? Achsu-rai asked himself as his eyes tracked the princess and her servant 'til they were out of sight. He was glad the training session was finished; he got nervous what with those deadly blades flashing so dangerously close to Nefertiri. It was a good thing the two were friends, he reflected. Achsu-rai knew Nefertiri let her emotions rule when she fought; he could only imagine how badly the pair might injure each other if they were ever angry. 

Imhotep appeared suddenly out of the shadows, wearing the deep lines of a scowl on his handsome face. "I hear that you suggested the princess as the next protector of the Bracelet of Anubis," he said without preamble. "Are you sure that was a wise decision?"

"What's it to you?" Achsu-rai asked suspiciously. 

"I would have liked to be consulted, that's all. The princess is so young--"

"Exactly. What's she going to do, hunt down the Scorpion King? I believe it is safe in her care."

"You'd be surprised, Achsu-rai," the high priest hissed, "at how wrong our beliefs can sometimes turn out to be." Imhotep shot the Medjai one last dagger-tipped look and fled the room. 

That man could make a living out of dramatic exits, Achsu-rai thought wryly as another form joined his side. "Brother," it said angrily, "where the hell have you been? I waited for two hours."

Achsu-rai sighed as he contemplated Khalil. He had once been that arrogant, carefree youth, he reminded himself. His brother would grow up _someday_, Achsu-rai was sure...almost. "I was busy," he snapped. "My obligations are more important than yours." 

"Oh, forgive me, I can see this was incredibly important," Khalil said with a mocking nod of his head. "It's not everyday you see this sort of thing. Why, I believe the last time the princess had a training session was...wait a minute, yes, why...it was yesterday!" 

Achsu-rai tried to think of something authoritative to say, but after a few moments of silence resorted to brotherly tactics and shot back, "Shut up!" 

"Achsu-rai, you told me you would come look at my work today. Remember, you said you'd talk to Seti about putting me on the art committee as soon as--"

"Khalil, I'm working on it, okay? I have more important things to worry about right now."

"What could be more important than your own brother?"

"Fate," Achsu-rai replied simply. Love, he could have added, but chose to keep mum on that particular subject. Hell, for all he knew, it was merely an infatuation...

--

Do I even have to say it? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!

Anyone else who wants me to e-mail them when I post, let me know. 


	5. Books and Revelations

Thank you, all you astute reviewers, I made a mistake...it's a THREE MONTH time span, not six months (I changed the time frame partway through writing this, hence the blunder). Oops!:)

Seletha, I'm not going to say (her question is "Is Khalil Ardeth?"), but if y'all were paying close attention during "Live and Let Die," you will find the answer:)

Anyway, thanks to all the reviewers--I love y'all! :) SORRY for the long delay, but midterms are starting up AGAIN...Also fighting the urge to go back through everything and revise the taglines...(writing class...a blessing and a curse!;)

Okay, this is my favorite chapter. I am so falling in love with Achsu-rai. (Girls, you're going to have to fight me for him!)

Chapter 5

Books and Revelations

It was dark by the time Achsu-rai was able to get rid of Khalil, finally sending him off to dinner in his place with the express instructions not to say a word to anybody. Achsu-rai never ate with the court, although since his father's illness he'd been welcome. Last week's banquet had been his first and only appearance at the nightly feast. He found conversation with Imhotep unbearable, the Pharaoh did nothing but hang on the priest's every word, he'd found enough courage to say ten words to Nefertiri, and even then he feared he'd insulted her. Not that it matters, Achsu-rai told himself. You might as well add the princess to your list of enemies on the royal court. She was probably wrapped around Imhotep's little finger as well. The high priest practically ran the country anyway. 

So why did this thought put Achsu-rai's heart in such torment? He had, after all, hardly spoken to the girl, been in her presence exactly twice, and managed to rebuff the attempts she'd made at any sort of friendship. What had he been thinking?! Achsu-rai berated himself. She was obviously interested in _some_ kind of relationship. Princesses did not go around telling bodyguards they had nice smiles...and that was the kicker: _princesses did not go around making friends with bodyguards_. Ever. It didn't happen, it couldn't happen, anything of the sort (especially anything _more_ that that) was absurd... 

That was when he saw her. She leaned reflectively on a handrail at the top of the stairs, looking wistfully out at the stars. Their light glittered down on her elegant red dress as she were a shimmering phoenix set against the black night...Achsu-rai mentally scolded himself again for thinking such thoughts. 

"What are you doing out here?" he barked, trying to rid his head of such nonsense. 

The princess whirled around and peered, wide-eyed, into the darkness. Achsu-rai couldn't help but notice the way the tiny gold beads in her hair clicked and danced around her head as she spun. She really didn't need all that fancy jewelry. The moonlight was quite enough to--

"I wasn't hungry," she cut short his thoughts with a whisper. "I often walk take walks around the palace while everyone is at dinner. It's the only time the whole thing is deserted."

"It's dangerous out here. You shouldn't be by yourself."

"I hardly think I'm in any danger if no one knows I'm here."

"But _I_ know."

"Is that a threat, Medjai?"

"A friendly warning, Princess." 

"My, what a way with women you have, Achsu-rai. Threatening me and treating me like a child? Charming."

"Only trying to help."

"Thanks for the thought," she said. "I would go to the library, but..."

"But?..."

"My father has forbidden me to read."

"Why?"

"Who knows?!" Nefertiri exploded. "He says that princesses should not have to stoop to something as intellectual as reading!"

"Is that really what he said?"

"Well...no. But that's what he meant!"

"So sneak in."

"It's locked. Believe me, I checked."

"There are ways of getting around that, Princess. Come."

Achsu-rai beckoned for Nefertiri to follow him down the corridor. "Where are we going?" she asked. 

"The library."

"You're going to break in? You can't do that! Someone will find us!"

"Everyone's at dinner, remember? Come on."

Achsu-rai led Nefertiri through the deserted hallways, eventually coming to a stop at the unguarded library door. "No problem," he said, studying the lock. After a few moments of quiet...

"How's your father?" she asked quietly. 

Achsu-rai did not answer for several minutes. He concentrated instead on the lock that had kept the princess away from her beloved books. It finally opened with a loud clunk. "You can't stand silence, can you?" he asked as he pushed open the heavy door. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's all right. He's not well. There. Happy?" he snapped. 

"I said I was sorry! I'll be quiet!"

This time, as Nefertiri wandered slowly between the bookcases, Achsu-rai following close behind, it was he who could not stand the silence. "I am sorry, Princess. It is difficult to talk about my father. He is such a strong man, it is hard to see him..." he trailed off. Nefertiri was about to respond when she heard the whispered end of the sentence. "...dying." 

"Are you close to him?" she asked softly. 

"Very much so."

"I am sorry, Achsu-rai. I didn't mean to upset you. I don't know what I'd do if my own father was ill."

"Are you close to the pharaoh?" 

"My father is very busy. I am very lucky that he is able to make time for me," she answered, turning away. 

"But he doesn't enough time, is that it?" 

Nefertiri looked up with unease. "I thought you were my father's advisor. That's not the sort of comment you should be making."

"Perhaps. But I am not just your father's advisor. I am also your friend."

Nefertiri paused. "Thank you." 

"And as your friend, I must tell you that the circles under your eyes are not very becoming. Have you been sleeping?" Achsu-rai asked. 

"It's the latest fashion," Nefertiri said dryly. Achsu-rai gave her a look that immediately told Nefertiri this was not the time for joking. Could that be..._concern_ reflected in his steely blue eyes? "No, I have not."

"Why?"

"I don't know. You ask a lot of questions."

"And you are the biggest question mark of all, Nefertiri." 

This, at least, drew a smile from the princess. They spent several minutes in companionable silence, Nefertiri studying the book she had chosen rather intently, Achsu-rai trying not to look at the princess. "What are you afraid of?" she asked suddenly. 

"That list is too long, Princess." 

"No, I mean, what's your biggest fear? The one thing that keeps you awake at night?"

Achsu-rai considered a moment before answering. Still, he was noncommittal. "I don't know." 

"Come on, there must be something," she goaded. 

"If I told, you'd laugh at me."

"No, I swear I won't!"

He pretended to contemplate an answer as he studied her. Achsu-rai didn't know how in the world this relationship had come about. Always before it had been fleeting glances, minimal eye contact and a nod across the room, barely acknowledging each other's presence as they went about their separate ways. But then she had forced her way into his life, barging in like she owned him, and refused to let him go. And she didn't even know it. They had spoken only three times, and yet somehow they were telling each other everything...Except this. 

"Achsu-rai, I grow impatient," she teased, waiting for his answer. He couldn't tell her. She'd run the other way and it would be back to the way it had always been. He couldn't let that happen. 

"I'm afraid..." he trailed off. He wanted to tell her, to sound crazy, to throw convention out the window. To tell her that ever since he'd looked into her eyes, he was terrified that he would lose her. That she would pass through his life so fleetingly, without a second thought, never giving him a chance to tell her that--

"Do you know what I'm afraid of?" she asked him, growing tired of his uncertainty. "I've always been afraid to die, ever since I was little. Ever since my mother passed away."

Achsu-rai's chest constricted. How?... 

"But you know what?" she continued. "Ever since I met you, I haven't been afraid anymore. I know you'll protect me." For a moment, for an eternity, they stared into each other's eyes. Then, as if suddenly embarrassed, Nefertiri turned abruptly and began to walk away, clutching her book. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she dashed out of the room, not even giving him a chance to speak. 

Every doubt Achsu-rai had flew from his mind. Of course he would protect her. He'd protect her with his very life. 

Nefertiri raced through the hallways, ignoring Anck-su-namun's calls as she locked the door and threw herself down on her bed. What on earth had possessed her to tell him that? To tell him everything! She was acting like a smitten schoolgirl with a Medjai! Their future leader, no less! 

"Nefertiri, you know it will do no good to lock me out," Anck-su-namun said as she sat on the bed. 

"Aaargh!" Nefertiri cried. "Is no lock safe in this entire palace?"

"What do you mean?" 

"Nothing," she muttered. 

"What's wrong?" Anck-su-namun asked. "Are you in love?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" 

To Nefertiri's surprise, the usually reserved girl broke into a wide grin. "Because I recognize that look you have. I have to tell you something, but you have to promise--"

"Anck-su-namun?" said a shy voice from behind them. Another of Nefertiri's maidservants stood in the doorway. "Anck-su-namun," she repeated timidly. "You must come with me now."

"Why?"

"Please, you must come with me."

Anck-su-namun rolled her eyes to Nefertiri and stood. "We'll talk tomorrow."

Alone once again, Nefertiri mulled over Anck-su-namun's words. Love? Preposterous. But somehow hearing it said out loud didn't shock her. For goodness sake, she'd only spoken to the man three times! And she very nearly always made a fool of herself in the process! No, even if it was love, it was most certainly one-sided. There wasn't a chance in hell a Medjai would get himself involved with a princess. To do so would surely mean death...

--

Tell me what y'all thought:)


	6. Wake Up to a Happy Day

I'd like to thank my 100th reviewer, Kat G, as well as everyone else...I love y'all and thank you so much!

Title courtesy of my Tom Peterson alarm clock. You know, the furniture guy ("Tom Peterson, and Gloria's too!") Does anyone else out there have a Tom Peterson alarm clock? Why does my roommate hate it so much??? I love it!!!

I'm posting earlier than usual because I'm sick and I need cheering up. Consequently the chapter's a bit short, but chapter 7 is well worth the wait, trust me:)

Chapter 6

Wake up to a Happy Day

Morning came, and the princess still hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. The insomnia that had gripped her wakeful nights for months now was beginning to catch up with her. Nefertiri stifled an unhappy yawn and climbed out of bed. She was determined to apologize to her father for the way she'd been acting. It was, of course, all his fault, but now that she had access to the library...Nefertiri swallowed a tinge of guilt at the thought that she'd been disobeying her father...but the blame couldn't really be placed on her; it was, after all, Achsu-rai's suggestion. She chose to forget the fact that she was planning on asking him to take her to the library again as soon as she'd finished her book. What Seti didn't know could not hurt him. 

When Nefertiri reached her father's quarters, the Medjai at the door informed her that he had already left for the day. "Well, where did he go?" asked Nefertiri, peeking inside the door. "He usually doesn't get up this early..." Her voice grew faint as she caught sight of the bed. Her father may have been gone, but the room was not completely empty. A head rose sleepily from the pillow, twisting toward the door to discern just who had disturbed her rest. The woman's eyes squinted slightly in the sudden daylight, then widened in shock when she saw who stood there. 

Neither woman moved as they contemplated each other. In a moment, new boundaries, new rules were thrown up between them. A relationship scattered to the wind, years of confidence, a million secrets, all gone in a fraction of a second as both realized the consequences of this single moment. 

One walked away. Later, both cried. 

Nefertiri had nearly reached her room when she heard the frantic footsteps behind her. "Nefertiri!" Anck-su-namun called. "Please, wait!" 

"Go away," the princess said, willing her feet to carry her through the doorway. 

Anck-su-namun caught her arm, struggling to speak through the tears the constricted her throat. "Please, Nefertiri, would you just let me--" 

"Do not address me as such," Nefertiri spat back, herself blinking back tears but willing them to stay hidden. "You are no longer my friend." 

"Please don't do this, I didn't mean for this to happen!" Anck-su-namun sobbed. 

"Somehow I doubt that!"

"What do you think happened, Nefertiri? You think I seduced him? You think I want this, you think I want my entire life to be ripped away from me?"

"I don't know what to think. But I know a couple things. I know I want you out of this room. _Now_." 

"Nefertiri! What do you expect me to do? Refuse him? Am I worth more to you dead than alive?"

"Get...out," Nefertiri said slowly, deliberately, as if she didn't trust her own voice. When no reaction came, she screamed instead. "_Get out!_" Her statement cracked in the air like a thundercloud, and Anck-su-namun leapt back as if she'd been physically struck by her friend's declaration. She straightened, imitating the regal posture of the princess that she knew so well, as if she'd suddenly come to a decision. The tears had stopped flowing, but she still had to fight to get the words out coherently...

"Goodbye...my friend."

With that, she did as she'd been bidden and left the princess to herself. When Nefertiri was sure Anck-su-namun was out of sight, she let her shoulders droop slightly, tasted the salt as the tears ran down her face...but she was not sorry. She couldn't afford to be sorry. 

He found her just after midnight, as he was finally ready to make his way home. It had been a long day of political maneuvering and backstabbing, and Achsu-rai wanted nothing more than to collapse onto his bed and sleep 'til the end of time. 

And then, of course, he saw Nefertiri sitting on a bench on his way through a courtyard, and his entire plan changed. But his joy at seeing her was cut short by the look on her face, the evidence of countless tears written blatantly in her eyes. 

"Princess?" he inquired quietly, not wanting to disturb her. "What are you doing out here so late?"

"Would you take me to the library?" she asked. "I've finished my book."

"Of course," he agreed immediately, all previous fatigue forgotten. "Is something wrong?"

Nefertiri managed a faint smile. "Is it that obvious?"

"Tell me."

"It's just...everything. One of those days, you know?"

Achsu-rai offered a hand. After a moment of hesitation, she took it, and they walked arm in arm out of the courtyard and towards the library. He wished desperately to know her troubles. It bothered him a little that she wouldn't tell him when something was so obviously wrong. _What am I saying? _Achsu-rai thought to himself. _Why should she tell you? What are you to her but a piece of furniture, just another part of the palace she takes for granted? She doesn't really care for you._

"Thank you," she said, breaking him out of his self-pity.

"For what?"

"For caring," she said with another small smile. "It means a lot to me."

He returned the smile. "You're welcome, Princess." 

---

*cough* review *cough*...No, really, I'm actually coughing. Review!!! 


	7. Could You Repeat the Question?

Craklyn, you're such a sweetie!!! Thank you!!!:) BTW, you should all read her new fic, it's fabulous:)

Chapter 7

Could You Repeat the Question?

Achsu-rai picked a book at random off the shelf, flipping it open and trying to read the words on the page instead of staring into Nefertiri's eyes. The girl really was making this task impossible, but Achsu-rai tried to concentrate on the manuscript.

"Do you like to read?" she asked him. 

"I wish I had the time. I've had little to myself lately."

"I'll have to speak to my father about that."

He smiled at her again, and Nefertiri had to concentrate to stay standing. What was it about this man she found so irresistible? One smile and she went weak in the knees. It would help if he wasn't so handsome, Nefertiri mused, completely forgetting the book and once more studying the tattoos that gave his face such an aura of mystery...

"Do you find me attractive?" Nefertiri asked abruptly. She cringed inside at her own question, but she couldn't take it back now. It was too late. Besides...she wanted to know if she was crazy or not, whether this was even possible. 

Achsu-rai continued to turn the pages, pretending to study their contents a little too intently. Every moment was unbearable to Nefertiri. A full thirty seconds passed before she became fed up with his silence and asked him again. "Do you find me attractive?" 

"Forgive me, Princess, but I have grown fond of the sound of my own heart beating."

"Achsu-rai, it's just words. What harm ever came from answering a simple question?"

"Words can harm us more than we like to let on."

"So you're afraid of hurting my feelings, then?"

"No. I'm afraid I'll die before my father does."

"Come on. I've seen you staring at me."

"Staring is pretty much my job, Princess."

"What an easy job you have," she teased. 

"You make it easy." Achsu-rai looked up for a moment, thought better of it, and returned his attention to the book. He had stopped flipping the pages. "Of course, there are all kinds of staring we must master. The intense gaze, the menacing glare, the knowing glance. The list goes on and on."

Nefertiri laughed, loud enough for someone to hear. Achsu-rai quickly put a finger to her lips to shush her, then snapped his hand back abruptly. "Do you want to continue coming here or not?" he asked sharply. 

"Why do you break the rules for me?" 

"I can always tell the pharaoh that you're delusional."

"And I can always have you killed!"

"No. Your soul is too sweet. You could never kill anyone, much less give the order."

"And I suppose you could?"

"I am a soldier. You are but a princess."

"I'm fairly sure that was an insult," Nefertiri pouted. 

"So am I."

Nefertiri could not hold back the grin. "That's why I like you. Everyone else walks on eggshells around me. You're not afraid to speak your mind."

Achsu-rai placed his book back on the shelf. "You must get back. You don't want to fall asleep in the middle of your training tomorrow morning."

"Will you come watch?"

"I thought you didn't like me staring at you."

"Then don't stare at me."

Achsu-rai took a step back and regarded the princess. He wanted to tell her that _not_ staring at her when she was merely in the room was an impossible task. He wanted to tell her that his heart skipped a beat whenever she brushed against him, whenever she spoke, whenever she breathed. He wanted to take her in his arms and ask her if she loved him. He wanted to ask himself, for that matter. 

"Achsu-rai, you're staring again." Not that she minded, Nefertiri reminded herself. 

"Sorry. Just trying to get my fill before tomorrow. Since you won't let me anymore, I'll have to look at your servant instead."

At this the princess bristled. "I thought you didn't want to die."

"What, would you kill me in a fit of jealous rage?"

Inwardly, Nefertiri rejoiced at the remark, but on the outside she was still angry. Not at Achsu-rai, but at the woman who had once called herself Nefertiri's friend. "You haven't heard? I thought you knew everything."

"Lately I have found I know less and less. What are you talking about?"

"Anck-su-namun has installed herself as my father's new mistress. She is no longer my servant."

"But you will still train together?"

"Not willingly."

"What is wrong, Princess? Suddenly you don't like the thought of your father having a mistress?"

"It's not that, it's just..." Nefertiri couldn't find the words. She desperately wanted to explain, to pour her heart and soul out to Achsu-rai, but something prevented her from voicing her feelings. Her best friend had betrayed her, and she couldn't put into words the fury that consumed her. The only thing that calmed her now was Achsu-rai's presence, strong and stoic even in the semi-darkness of the library, anchoring her to a world she felt lost in. Before she could say anything more, however, he took her hand in his, squeezed it gently, and said simply, "I understand." 

And for that one moment, Nefertiri finally felt at peace. 

--

Hmm, think they kinda like each other?!?;) How long can this go on?!?!?! Review and maybe I'll tell ya:)


	8. Just Kiss Me!

I have only one thing to say to everyone.... "Patience is a virtue." Tee hee.

My recommendation of the day is Eve's "Never Spellbound by a Starry Sky." Everyone should read and review it, it's fabulous!:)

Title, I suppose, belongs to Harry Connick, Jr. Love him:)

Chapter 8

Just Kiss Me!

As promised, Achsu-rai arrived at the training room the next morning, albeit a little late. Nefertiri and Anck-su-namun had already begun to fight, and the only other person in the room was a young maidservant who stood near the door, observing. Upon Achsu-rai's entrance she bowed her head and fled the room, but the two other women were oblivious to anyone else's presence. 

As Achsu-rai watched, Nefertiri lunged viciously at Anck-su-namun, the golden sai flashing dangerously close to her teacher's head. Anck-su-namun returned the attack, forcing Nefertiri to retreat quickly, almost into the corner of the room. One more swipe of the dagger and she was trapped, and the only thing keeping Anck's blade from her throat was her own thrashing sais. She held off Anck's blows as long as she could, then, ducking, managed to evade her. Unfortunately, as Nefertiri rolled away, Anck-su-namun had already whirled around, lashing out with her foot, and with a well-placed kick Nefertiri was sprawled on the ground. 

"You disappoint me, Nefertiri," Anck-su-namun hissed, spinning her daggers in her nimble hands and turning away. "All this training, clearly going to waste--"

Anck-su-namun's sentence was never finished, for Nefertiri had leapt up from her position on the floor and threw herself at her opponent's back. With quick instincts Anck turned and took Nefertiri's attack with ease, soon turning her role of defendant into assailant in but a few fleeting moments, finally catching Nefertiri across the arm in one brutal swipe--

"Stop!" Achsu-rai bellowed, attempting to pull the two apart. "What are you trying to do, kill each other?" 

"She started it," Nefertiri muttered, raising her mask. 

"Princess," Achsu-rai said, trying not to let the alarm show in his voice, "you're bleeding." 

"Just a skin wound," she said quietly, not bothering to inspect her arm before making the statement. "I'm not a child," she added, more to Anck-su-namun than to Achsu-rai. 

"Well, you act like it sometimes," he told her anyhow. 

"Look who's talking."

"Anck-su-namun, you will do well in the future to avoid drawing blood," he said sternly. "Now go." 

Suspiciously filing away the seeming familiar ness between the two, Anck-su-namun retrieved her things and slunk out of the training room. She had not removed her gold-plated mask, and Achsu-rai found himself a bit unsettled by the sinister eye slits she had trained on him. He went to the nearby medicine cabinet and took out a clean cloth. "Let me see your arm."

"I can take of myself."

"_Now_."

Slightly frightened at his tone of voice, Nefertiri obeyed. As he cleaned the wound, she realized how much it actually did hurt. She'd been too enraged during the actual fight to even notice, but now...

"Ow," she protested, pulling her arm away. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" he asked, his anger getting the best of him. "Help you? Stop the pair of you from nearly killing each other?"

"That's our business."

"You're going to get yourself hurt!"

"What do you care?" 

"Fine, go ahead, bleed to death."

For a moment they just stared at each other in silent fury, but then Nefertiri allowed him to take her arm again. He wound the bandage perhaps tighter than was necessary. "Why do you let her get to you like that?" he asked. "I thought you were friends."

Nefertiri's face once again bore that stony royal facade she wore so well. "Anck-su-namun was just a servant, and she is no longer. That's all there is to it."

"Don't lie to me."

"How do you know I'm lying?"

"I can tell."

"Can you? You think you know me so well?" 

"I think I have known you forever, Princess."

After a strange sort of pause, Nefertiri cleared her throat and remarked, "It is dangerous to take such liberties with me, Achsu-rai. I can only imagine what my father might think if he heard you say such things."

"Your father is the only one keeping me from--" Achsu-rai cut short his sentence abruptly. He'd almost admitted to her that--

"What?" 

"I have to be somewhere in a few minutes."

Nefertiri sighed heavily. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For thinking there was something between us. I see now that I was wrong." 

It was not her words that cut him so deeply, it was his inability to refute them out loud. "Don't say that."

"Am I wrong, then?" 

Achsu-rai could see her composure breaking. It was not anger, not this time, that threatened to seethe over the walls she tried so hard to hold up...they were tears. He could see them shimmering in her glassy eyes, just waiting to tip over her eyelashes and smudge the lines of kohl so carefully applied that morning. Presented with a portrait like that, could the pharaoh, could anyone, blame him? He wanted more than anything to show her she was wrong, to kiss away the tears, to say the words he had so long wanted to say...

...just one kiss...

--

Holding the reader's interest is all about _timing_...cackle, cackle, cackle...leave me a review and perhaps the fates will smile on my keyboard. 

If any of you particularly have a crush on Khalil, let me know, and you might get a nice little surprise in chapter 9;)


	9. Good Advice

Thanks to everyone for the MARVELOUS reviews...I'm such a tease;)...

Craklyn, dahlin', I did a word count, and these next two chapters are each 1500 words long...makes up for all the short chapters lately:)

Chapter 9

Good Advice

Nefertiri could scarcely believe this was happening. Her lips had barely brushed against his when suddenly...

...they were no longer alone. Anck-su-namun had moved her mask up so her face was visible, and her shrewd eyes saw immediately what was going on, although she said nothing about it. "I forgot my towel," she said sweetly, bending to pick it up and shooting Nefertiri a knowing and malicious glance. In all their years of friendship, Nefertiri had never seen this side of Anck before, the spiteful, cruel side, and Nefertiri wished with regret that she could mend their relationship. But it was too late...the damage had been done to their bond, and they were just going to have to live with the consequences.

For a few minutes after Anck-su-namun's departure, neither Achsu-rai nor Nefertiri spoke. Their minds reeled with "what if "s and dreams just out of reach. Finally, it was Nefertiri who broke the peace. 

"I love you."

Her words were met with more silence, silence that he longed to break, but he was restrained by a thousand years of law and tradition that beat down on him like the fierce sun. 

"Achsu-rai, why don't you say anything?"

"Do you know what your father would do to me if I were to answer you?"

"He doesn't have to know."

"You want me to defy a living god. Worse, you want to disobey your own father."

"I refuse my to let him run my life any longer. He can't make our choices for us!"

"_I_ have made the choice."

"And what choice is that?" she asked sadly. She already knew. 

"You have my loyalty, Princess. Forever. But I cannot give you my love." 

"I was mistaken, then. I thought you already had."

He couldn't say anything else. If he tried, the wrong words would just tumble out of his mouth. Words that would probably get them both banished, killed, or worse. And yet there was a part of him that didn't care what happened to him as long as...no. No amount of tears on either of their parts could sway him. He had to walk away. 

But as he did, he could feel both their hearts breaking. 

Khalil sat studying his latest piece of work with a critical eye. It really was a beauty. The tablet, only a few feet wide, told the story of a young orphan who discovered he was really a prince...all right, so Khalil wasn't the most imaginative writer, but the intricate, artful script more than made up for any creative lack. Khalil liked to tell himself that if he hadn't been born a Medjai, he might have been a scribe. 

Achsu-rai entered the tent and sat opposite from Khalil, making no mention of the masterpiece. "I am in love with someone I shouldn't be," the former said, without prologue. 

"Aren't we all?" Khalil asked with a smile, attention still focused on the tablet. 

"I'm serious." 

"Yes, you always are serious, aren't you, brother? So get over it." 

"That's your advice? Get over it?" 

"It's the best I can do. I'm the younger brother, I'm not supposed to be the one giving advice."

"I'm trying to get over it. It's not working." 

"Achsu-rai, I know from experience you can do anything you set your mind to. So forget her. Move on. How hard can it be?" 

"Obviously you've never been in love." 

"I speak from experience," Khalil said wistfully. "Do you remember that girl Coryn?" 

"This is not puppy love. We're talking about defying the gods here. We're talking about committing mortal sins. We're talking about disregarding every rule and law man has." 

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad." 

"It's not like it matters anymore anyway. I told her I didn't love her." 

"How did she take it?" 

"I don't know. I left." 

"Well that'll win her over," Khalil said, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

His brother's jesting went unnoticed by Achsu-rai. "I think she knows, though."

"Knows what?"

"She knows I was lying. I could see it in her eyes. I can't lie to her."

"Achsu-rai, we all fall in love with someone we can't have. It's part of life."

"Oh, I'm fairly sure I could 'have' her. It's just whether or not it would get us killed."

Khalil turned serious, a rare enough occasion. "What have you gotten yourself into, brother?"

Achsu-rai sighed. "Heaven." He stood and made for the exit, but Khalil grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?" 

"Away from the palace. I can't be near her right now."

"So she's a servant, then?"

"No."

"Look, Achsu-rai, I know you're upset right now, but you should go to banquet tonight, the pharaoh wondered where you were yesterday."

"I can't."

"Brother, now you're being the unreasonable one."

"I don't want to see her."

"You said she's not a servant. Is she a noble, then?"

"Of sorts." 

"A Medjai in love with a noblewoman. Brother, you are in trouble." 

"I told you."

"So ignore her. Make her think you were telling the truth."

"I can't ignore her."

"Why not?"

"Because I sit next to her."

This time, when Achsu-rai left, Khalil was too shocked to stop him. 

"Imhotep?" Nefertiri whispered as she stepped timidly through the doors of the temple, her footsteps on the shiny marble floor echoing painfully in her ears. The front room appeared deserted save for a highly polished statue of Osiris sitting against the far wall. Nefertiri said a quick prayer before passing the statue and venturing into the next room. She was trying to remember the correct path she had to take to get to Imhotep's office when a familiar face, one that she certainly did not want to see at the moment, appeared at the other end of the hallway. Anck-su-namun held her head high and passed the princess by without so much as a glance. It was just as well, Nefertiri reflected, for she certainly did not feel like getting into another confrontation with Anck. 

A few moments later, Nefertiri was surprised to see Imhotep exit from the same place Anck-su-namun had come. _Atoning for her sins_, Nefertiri thought, her anger rising once again at the thought of what her friend had done. Shaking it off, she went to meet Imhotep, who looked just as startled to see the princess there. Working his face into a mask of fatherly concern, he took her hands. "Why Princess," he greeted her, "whatever brings you by the temple today? You look unwell."

_Why does everyone have to mention that? _"I need to talk to you, Imhotep. I know I haven't come to see you in a while, but you were always such a good friend to me when I was younger, and..." By now the tears had begun to fall. "I just don't know what to do, and--and--"

"Hush, Nefertiri, of course I will help you. Would you like to sit down?"

Nefertiri allowed Imhotep to lead her to a bench that stood nearby. "Now," he said, "tell me what is wrong."

She took a deep breath, hoping she could get through this. "I..." she started... "I am in love."

Imhotep blinked. "Pardon?"

"I'm in love, okay! I'm in love! I don't know what to do!"

His mouth opened and closed a few times before he was able to form coherent words. "What...with who?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"What do you think I'm so worried about here? If I could tell you who it was, everyone would already know!"

Imhotep contemplated her for a moment at arm's length before pulling the princess into a hug. "Oh, Princess," he sighed, "your father is going to kill me for telling you this."

"Telling me what?"

Imhotep released her. "A month ago, I would have gone straight to your father and told him to arrange a marriage for you to get your mind off...well, whoever. But now..."

"But now?" Nefertiri asked, heart thudding painfully in her chest at the thought of marrying someone else, anyone but the one person she could not have. 

"But now...I want you to listen to me very carefully, Nefertiri. Don't ask me how I came about this knowledge or why I tell you this, and you must promise not speak of it to anyone. We now hold each other's lives in our hands. But I have discovered, and I suspect that you are realizing, too, that love was meant to break the rules, and we mortals must obey our hearts or..." Imhotep shrugged. "Or the world will stop turning."

"Imhotep," Nefertiri said with a smile, "I think that's the best advice you've ever given me."

Imhotep returned the smile, but his mind seemed elsewhere. "Now let's see if either of us are able to follow that advice and live to see the results."

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

"Nothing, Princess. You have enough to worry about in your own life without fretting over my problems, too."

--

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you all hate me (some more than others, I guess). Review and maybe those two will _eventually_ get together:) Y'all will love the next chapter, trust me;)

For some reason, Imhotep saying "Pardon?" just gives me the giggles. 


	10. Affection x Purity x Intensity x Duratio...

Be on the lookout for a slightly obscure Buffy ref, peoples:) (Tigerwolf! Of course I'm not mad at you! How silly of you:) Here's a hint: it's a Riley reference, again;)

I also LOVE everyone who reviewed chapter 9...mithwith, TGG14, Angel Ruse, Laura, cracklyn, Dylan, MBooker, Asilin, Tigerwolf, Seletha, Neferbast, Mythica, Allibabab, Sare, Mija, nefrititi, Katherine, Linser, Jennie, RedLady, Katie, and Ivy (merci pour le 200th review!!!:):):)

As per Linser's request, my recommendation of the day is "The Revolution" by Dylan Shelby. Dreamily romantic and bite-your-nails suspenseful at the same time! Go read it!:)

On a side note, I just saw _Spider-Man_ and WOW!!! Everyone should go see that:)

Also, title belongs to William Goldman. You _Princess Bride _fans can guess what _that_ means (wink, wink, nudge, nudge;)

Chapter 10

Affection x Purity x Intensity x Duration

_He was too far away to do anything to stop it, but not far enough that the details didn't burn themselves into his brain. His limbs seemed tied to the ground as he saw her slowly turn and look her killer in the eye as the woman slowly, agonizingly, pulled the long, sharp blade out of her stomach. The woman and the priest walked arrogantly away, leaving her all alone to sink miserably to the warm red sand. Before he knew it he was beside her, lowering her gently back before she could crumble completely, as if that small gesture might do something to save her. He was vaguely aware of other people, beings that seemed familiar and yet were too fuzzy to place. _

She was different, he could tell that. Her hair had changed, her clothes were strange, he sensed wisdom, and an understanding that had not been there before...but in her eyes he could see the sparkle that had so captivated him, slowly fading away behind the tears that pooled in her eyes, and his. She said something, but he couldn't understand her words. He could only focus on her eyes, so sad, and yet eternally hopeful at the same time. She wasn't really looking at him, he could tell that. She was looking beyond him to someone else, someone who held her in his arms as tightly as he would have held his princess. Then, more words...She was telling him she loved him. He didn't need to understand her language to know that. His lips formed a single word..."Evelyn." 

And in a moment, she was gone. He had never felt more lost. 

Achsu-rai awoke with a start. His chest felt as if it might burst from the hysterical beating of his heart; his breathing was erratic and shaky. It took him a moment for his mind to grasp the concept that it had been a dream, that he was safe in his bed, in the darkness. _She was gone..._No! No, it hadn't been her, it was someone else. _Evelyn..._there was no mistaking that this woman, whoever she was, was important...critical to his very survival. He loved her without knowing any more than her name. He needed her. And she was dead..._Nefertiri was dead_....No! It was just a dream, she was fine, back at the palace, probably not sleeping either. 

Achsu-rai freed himself from the twisted covers with some difficulty and, throwing on a wrap to guard against the desert cold, fled from his tent. The Medjai littered about the base camp raised their heads drowsily as he stormed past their makeshift beds. When he did not make any attempt to rouse them, they assumed nothing was wrong and went back to their dreams. _Dreams...She was telling him she loved him..._

His step quickened as he hastened toward the palace. He had to know she was okay. Somewhere, deep in his heart, he knew she was fine, but he needed to see her. He needed to look into her eyes. 

The only living soul he encountered on the way was a shrunken old man snoozing on a cot near her chambers. Achsu-rai had often seen the man, whose name he thought was Tahir, at Nefertiri's side during palace functions. Somewhere from the dredges of his memory Achsu-rai recalled that Tahir had been the queen's servant before she passed on. 

Achsu-rai strode past the man and let himself into Nefertiri's room without a sound. She was, as he had suspected, not sleeping. She sat in a chair someone had dragged out on the balcony, book open on her lap, weary eyes engrossed in some historical account or other that she had chosen the other night. It seemed like months ago that he had taken her hand and led her to the library; months ago, rather than that morning, that they had come so close...

Nefertiri jumped a little when she saw a figure standing in the darkness observing her. "Who's there?" He tried to speak but couldn't, happier than he'd ever been just to know she was alive, she was protected. Nefertiri pulled her robe around her with alarm as she saw who it was. "Achsu-rai! What are you doing here?"

"I just needed to know you were alive. Are you all right?" he asked, well aware of how silly he sounded. 

Indeed, Nefertiri laughed in spite of his serious tone. "Of course, I'm fine! What happened?" 

He struggled to steady his voice as he answered her, resorting to babbling when his distressed mind could not find a coherent way to explain just what he was doing there. "I had a dream. You were...different, we were different...I couldn't save you, they killed you, and I--" 

"Who?" the princess asked as she quickly crossed the room, shutting the door behind the Medjai. They were alone, something Achsu-rai had sworn could never happen again. But he didn't move away from her. A long silence punctuated her question as he tried to collect his thoughts. It was just a stupid nightmare; it didn't mean anything. Telling her who the murderers had been in his dream would only throw her world into more confusion. 

Eventually she gave up on waiting for an answer. "You're shaking!" she exclaimed, drawing a tender hand across his forehead. "Achsu-rai, it was just a dream! I'm fine!" To prove it, she placed a kiss on his cheek. To her surprise, he did not flinch at her touch. "I trust you, okay?" she continued. "You can protect me against anything, I know it. I'm _fine_."

"For now," he whispered back, taking her hand and lacing his fingers through hers. "But this was...this wasn't _us_, Nefertiri. It was like...a different life. What if I can't always protect you?"

"Hey. You called me Nefertiri," she noted softly. 

He paused. "...I did."

"Achsu-rai," she said, "whatever happens...in this life, in the next...all you ever need to know is...I love you. Nothing else matters. I know you're not going to say it, maybe you _can't_, ever, but...I _know_ it. And that's all I need." 

Nothing was said for a few moments and Nefertiri began to fear she'd made a mistake. She started to turn away but Achsu-rai pulled her back to him, far too close for a princess and a bodyguard to be standing. "This could get us killed," he said. 

"You, maybe," she teased. "I'm my father's favorite daughter, the most I'd get is a scolding." 

"You joke about this, but it is serious. Your father is not just any father, Nefertiri."

"He is just a man. People forget that."

"Whether you acknowledge it or not, he could do worse to us than sentence us to death."

"He doesn't have to know. He's too wrapped up in his own love life to notice mine."

"Love?" he murmured, by now so completely lost in her eyes that he hardly knew what he was saying anymore. 

"Love," she repeated, as if to confirm somehow that this was right. To approve of their crime, to give two lovers sanctuary...a single word was all it took, one word threaded in and out of their collective destiny...fated, perhaps doomed, to control the lives of two souls in whatever existence they might find themselves in. 

There was no moment of anticipation, no lingering delay, simply a thousand years of passion exploding into one fateful embrace. His lips were on hers in an instant, testing, teasing, intoxicated by the taste of her mouth, her tongue. Her perfume filled his senses; everything else fell away and there was only the reality of his princess, finally..._his_ princess. 

He broke away only so they could both begin to breath again. It took him a moment to form the words, such was the effect of her hands absently tracing the lines of the tattoos on his chest. His rational mind (although reason was rapidly vanishing) was still telling him that this couldn't, shouldn't, happen. "I should go." 

Contrary to his words, however, he continued the kiss down the curve of her neck, stopping briefly to nibble at her earlobe before continuing down to her collarbone. She didn't have the presence of mind to call him a liar, for the delicious chills that errant mouth was sending up and down her body were making it very hard to think. Nefertiri fought to clear her spinning head, somewhat surprised to find that her robe had slid off her shoulders and was now pooled at her feet. "No, don't go," she breathed, clutching at him for support as her resistance weakened under his touch. "Stay, please." 

"They will certainly kill us for this," he told her, once again enraptured by the simple fact that her beautiful eyes were staring into his. "Do you know what scares me about that?"

"What?"

He drew her to him once more, marveling at how perfectly she fit into his arms, at how she had the power to make him tremble at the slightest butterfly touch of her delicate fingers...

"I don't care."

...And as is so often the case in star-crossed love affairs, one thing always leads to another...

~*~*~*~

FINALLY!!! It took them ten whole chapters, but they finally got together. Yay! Beat that, Buttercup and Wesley!!! Eager to hear what y'all will say:) REVIEW!!!


	11. Too Bad Dark Languages Rarely Survive

This chapter is dedicated to CRAKLYN, who I hope gets better soon:) and you have no idea how sorry I am for spelling your name wrong...that one time I spelled it right, I did realize that I'd been spelling it wrong, and then I spelled it right, and then I guess I started spelling it wrong again...I'm sorry! Will you ever forgive me? Love ya:)

Tigerwolf: "It's just...I start babbling, and then he starts babbling, and it turns into a babblefest.";) Yeah, I didn't like Riley much either:)

Dylan: I used to be such a huge Buffy fan, but I haven't watched since about the musical (I always go "Hey, it's Tuesday, I should go down to the lounge and watch Buffy," and then I forget or homework gets in the way), although my fam has taped most of them for me:) I heard Tara died, though, that's so sad:( But maybe now Oz will come back...heh heh, can you tell I'm a Seth Green fan?;)

Rogue: Your review made me laugh:) Thanks:)

Asilin: Nothing's wrong with Buttercup and Wesley, I mean, it's only the greatest book of all time!:)

MBooker: I wonder if I know what you were wondering...:)

Kat: Five days isn't a fast enough update?! ;)

Zeldabelle: thanks! Can't wait to see your new painting:)

midwinterstorm: Wow! Thank you so much for your comments! Anyway, I know what you mean about the Rick / Achsu-rai gap, it's really hard to write Rick in the first place, and then to cast him as a completely different character...it gets complicated. You hit it right on the mark, though, it is because of the duty that there's not so much of that "roguish" factor in his charm and humor (though I personally think he has plenty of both;). You might see the Rick side more once he starts being more romantic;)

Also thanks to marrokinhas, Angel Ruse, Britania, Hollyn, Seletha, Mythica, diamond girl, Mija, Solaris, Mahaja, Sassy, TGG14, walking in stardust, Jennie, RedLady, Skysong, and anyone I missed for reviewing:)

Title belongs to Poe;) 

Today's recommendation is She's a Star's "A Story About Love," which is literally the best Moulin Rouge fic I have ever read!:)

Achsu-rai is so sweet...probably the reason he's a fictional character. Sigh. 

Chapter 11

Too Bad Dark Languages Rarely Survive

__

Her hair fell in her eyes as she slept; he brushed it away, careful not to wake her. Watching her sleep was a sort of heaven all by itself, for he knew that nothing in her dreams could harm her. He held her so close he could feel her breathe, in, out, in, out, focused completely on the simple beauty of her sleeping face. Nothing mattered anymore, nothing except the steady rhythm of sweet air that told him she was alive, safe, in his arms. In his arms! Three words he'd thought could never come true. 

Achsu-rai chanced a look toward the balcony. The sun was just barely peeking over the distant horizon, treading heartlessly upon his happiness. He had to leave now, before the dawn broke and her room was invaded by a million servants. Achsu-rai gently extracted himself from Nefertiri's unconscious embrace. He didn't want to wake her, less because she was in such a deep sleep and more because he was afraid that one look into her endless hazel eyes would convince him to stay. He kissed her forehead once more before he left, almost hoping that she would wake up, but she just muttered something unintelligible about goat soup and fell back into her slumber.

He slipped quietly out of the room, cursing the light as dawn invaded the shadows of the hallway. He had just noticed that the servant was no longer at his station when a noise behind him made him turn. 

Tahir had just gotten up to see who had left Nefertiri's room, and was greeted with a cold blade at his throat as Achsu-rai shoved him up against the wall. 

"Who are you?" Achsu-rai growled. He really didn't want to have to kill him...

"Uh, I--I--My name is Tahir. I, I serve Nefertiri." 

"What are you doing out here?"

"I heard the door opening, I thought perhaps the princess could not sleep again. Although I see now that is for different reasons than I had imagined."

"Do you care to die?"

"No, no, no, sir, I do not wish to see the princess hurt."

"I didn't ask you that."

"I find the answers to be one and the same, sir. I'm quite fond of the princess." Tahir reminded himself to be careful not to move his throat too much as he talked. "She's been a different person lately. Smiles more. I would never want to spoil her happiness."

Achsu-rai considered him for a moment, then removed the blade from Tahir's throat. "Almost against my better judgment, I trust you."

Rubbing his throat, Tahir replied, "And against _my_ better judgment, I trust you with her."

"You swear you won't--"

"Your secret is safe, I swear upon the head of my late queen. I would never betray my princess."

"Then we have something in common already."

The crowd "ooo"ed and "ahh"ed as the man seemingly drew the flaming torch from his throat and demonstrated that he was, indeed, perfectly fine. He blew the torch out with one huge breath, bowing aside for his fellow performer. She led a caged tiger, growling and foaming at the mouth, teasing it every so often with a whip as the crowd gasped in horror at the sight. Seti was a fan of these traveling minstrel shows, and so the populace tried to seem appreciative. 

Achsu-rai, of course, was paying no attention to the spectacle that so captivated everyone else. He was mesmerized by a different beauty, one that he yearned for, but one that terrified him at the same time. Nefertiri's power over him was intoxicating, but something still unsettled him. Their lives could not continue this way, lovers only under the cover of darkness, paralyzed by Seti's control over their lives. This moment in time would not last, he was sure, though he wanted more than anything to hold onto it for all eternity. 

Eventually his staring attracted her attention. She noticed his gaze on her and returned it, smiling just slightly, though careful not to draw anyone's awareness to their interaction. Achsu-rai thought she might have been blushing just a bit. 

Unbeknownst to the pair, there were other eyes trained on them at that moment as well. Khalil watched the two carefully. They were obviously trying to be discreet, but Khalil could see through that little half-smile the princess wore. She was always so aloof, so distant in public. Achsu-rai, for once, was not focused on the pharaoh or Imhotep or whatever else might be going on in the royal court at the moment. Only her. Something was going on, Khalil was sure of it. 

The courtyard began to empty as the minstrels finished their antics. Nefertiri was among those to leave, though Khalil caught the look she threw his brother as she exited. Achsu-rai himself hardly noticed when Khalil sidled up next to him. 

"What's going on with you and the princess?"

Achsu-rai had the decency to look a bit scandalized by the question, though it didn't throw him as much as Khalil had hoped. "Ours is a working relationship," he said. 

"Funny. Tell me."

"What is it you want to know?"

"Are you involved with Nefertiri?"

"How clever of you."

"Why won't you tell me, brother? You tell me everything."

"Because I wish to live."

"I won't tell anyone, I swear."

"I have no wish to swear anyone else to secrecy."

"Who else knows?" Khalil demanded.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"Why won't you answer my questions?"

Achsu-rai sighed. "Because you don't need to know."

"I already know. I just need confirmation."

Khalil thought he saw a bit of anxiety flash over Achsu-rai's face. "What exactly _do_ you know?"

"I thought you told her that nothing was going to happen, Achsu-rai. What changed?"

"Even the best of us make mistakes. I don't intend to pay for mine, with my life or anybody else's. That includes yours."

"You can trust me, you know."

"Dear brother. I do trust you. But...when it comes to this...we can't trust anybody."

~*~*~*~

Thanks to Chels for the extensive IM convo about the Khalil conversation:)

Come on, everyone, REVIEW:) You know you want to!:)


	12. An Ill-Divining Soul

Merci to Mythica, Mija, Seletha, Marrokinhas (I'll work on that;), Sare, Zeldabelle, Toni (wow! thanks! I prefer their caramel macchiatto myself:), Kat, TGG14 (I'm not gonna tell for about seventeen chapters...so buckle up and enjoy the ride!:), Anchovy, Mahaja (no particular reason, the tiger was just supposed to be ferocious), Craklyn, Tigerwolf (my personal fave is "Wait here! I'll go get help!":), Dylan (I heard the X-Files finale was really good?), Allibabab (did you know "Thoughts of a Woman" is on my favorites list? I love it:), Redlady, Katie, Jennie, MBooker, Luigi, Angel, mithwith, and Linser (thank you so much, and I will read that this summer:)...You guys have no idea how much I appreciate your support:):):)

I've posted a one-parter called "Chaos Theory," I'd appreciate if y'all checked it out:)

About a month has passed between chapters 11 and 12. It just worked out that way with the time frame. 

I'm a bit ellipse-happy in this chapter, which my writing prof would kill me for, but I like 'em. So there! 

Title from the Bard's "Romeo and Juliet"...ooh, creepy:) (see! more ellipses!!!) _I also love to write with italics. It's fun:)_

Chapter 12

An Ill-Divining Soul

__

The flicker of the torch set his hair dancing with golden light. His skin had grown pale, too, though he still looked like he'd spent a great deal of time in the sun. But his eyes were the same, sparkling blue against the hopelessness of their situation. They stood together with some other people that she felt as though she should know, though their faces were hazy in her memory and she could not see their eyes. All she could feel was the fear, overpowering her senses, closing in on their little group. 

Out of the mass of slaves the priest walked. There was a glint in his eye that she was not prepared to expect, a sliver of malevolence that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. She absentmindedly realized that her hair was different, too, her clothes, come to think of it, seemed awfully dark and excessive. 

"Come with me, my princess. It is time to make you mine for all eternity." The words were cold, indifferent, as if he could kill them all with a flick of his wrist and it was mere politeness that he was asking for her permission. "Take my hand," he continued, "and I will spare your friends."

"Why?" she wanted to shout. "Why are you doing this to us? What have we done?" Instead, words tumbled out of her mouth that she could not understand. Her body was not quite hers, just as he, somehow, did not seem quite right. His hands clutched restlessly at the torch. He was nervous...frightened. She'd never seen him frightened before, and it scared her even more. 

Her feet began to walk, moving ever forward no matter how much she willed them to stop. He didn't want her to go, he tried to hold her back with the sheer will of his eyes, but all she could do was stare back at him. She knew that look, as if he wanted desperately to say something but could not. His eyes told her everything she needed to know. I will protect you....I will love you. 

The priest turned and dragged her with him. She kept him in her sight as long as she could, watched the other man hold him back as he tried, in vain, to get to her. 

"Kill them all!" the priest shouted. She tried to scream his name as the crowd filled the remainder of the gap between them, but her throat closed and a strange fog overtook her senses. Soon, the blackness followed. 

Nefertiri awoke gasping, clutching in vain for some sign that he was alive, sleeping, safe, beside her. But her desperate eyes were met with an empty bed, the slight impression his form left upon the mattress the only evidence that he had been there at all. He was always gone. Achsu-rai had once asked her if she'd rather that he left during the night and lived to see her again, or stayed 'til morning and be killed. She'd been tempted, at the time, to say she'd prefer the latter, just to see what he'd say. 

She fell back on the bed with a sigh, willing the nightmare to fade into shadows along with the rest of her fears. It was only a nightmare, wasn't it? He had spoken of similar dreams...she, the same and yet not the same, dying, leaving him...he didn't like to talk about it, and when she'd asked again, he'd gotten angry. Now she knew why he'd been so distraught. If her own fiendish imagination was any indication, Achsu-rai's dream, doubly intensified by his protectiveness over her, was likely to have been even more hellish. Nefertiri realized in a rush that she felt the need to protect him, too. They had to depend on each other, or both would be lost. A strange sense of foreboding overtook her senses, but she tried to shake it off. It was nothing... 

Perhaps she should go seek out Achsu-rai, just to make sure he was all right. 

Nefertiri quickly dressed, impatiently waving away the servants that crowded around her, and escaped the confines of her chambers into the cool morning air. Tahir gave her a fatherly smile and a wink as she passed him. If she didn't know better, she'd say he knew something...but even if he did, Nefertiri was confident that her mother's faithful servant could be trusted. He knew everything there was to know about her anyway, acting as a sort of quasi-family member when her own father was too busy to spare a word. 

As she rounded the corner a noise caught her attention. It sounded like...it sounded like someone crying. Nefertiri sped up, trying to follow the soft sniffling that seemed just beyond reach. Just as she was about to give up, a movement in the courtyard below caught her eye. 

It was Anck-su-namun. She lay crumpled at the base of the fountain, sobbing quietly. Nefertiri tip-toed down the staircase, watching. As she placed her foot on the last step Anck whirled around and, seeing the princess there, stood quickly, almost losing her balance. Nefertiri tried to help her up before she could stop herself, but with a glare, Anck-su-namun rejected her assistance and stood of her own accord. She desperately attempted to wipe the evidence of crying from her face, but it was too late. Her eyes were red and puffy, and the trails of tears were still visible upon her pretty face. Despite herself, Nefertiri felt sorry for her. "What is wrong?" she asked.

"Everything is perfect, highness," spat Anck-su-namun. "Why shouldn't I be honored? I should be jumping for joy, right? That's what everyone wants. They only want my happiness."

"What are you talking about?"

"My life. They've signed away my life."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Nobody does. They have no idea." She seemed to truly see the princess for the first time, and fixed that unnerving gaze upon her. "You have no idea. You won't, not any of you, not until it's too late."

Then she left Nefertiri alone, with nothing to keep her company but a terrible sense of foreboding.

---

There's a little purple button right down there. Click it!!! Then you type things like, "Bow down to Buffelyn. I am in awe." Or something to that effect;) Use your own words:)


	13. I Knew I'd Seen that Ring Somewhere:)

Ever wonder what the deal was with the ring in "Live and Let Die"? Well, coming up here is the beginning of an explanation of the ring's connection to LLD. It's actually becoming a rather large plot point in CoG. In fact, there may be another sequel centering on the ring and what happened to it after the chariot driver scooped it up. But that is for another day!

P.S.: some of the text is adapted from LLD, if you recognize it:) Except he's not in prison or anything this time;)

I just realized there's a Buffy line in here...and I didn't even realize it when I wrote it. Buffy an Angel love theme rocks!!! (hint hint:)

Special thanks to Mythica for help with Achsu-rai's background:) For all you fact-checkers, the scenario we came up with is historically accurate (and so is the ring!:)

Chapter 13

I Knew I'd Seen that Ring Somewhere;)

Nefertiri did not find Achsu-rai until later that afternoon. When she saw him standing there across the hallway she nearly fainted with relief. He was all right, he was alive, everything was fine...and he was talking to Imhotep. 

Now there was another dilemma. Imhotep had always been so kind to her...but now he looked somehow different, as if the dream was a horrible portent of things to come. She couldn't picture him doing something so sinister, she just couldn't. _It's just your silly imagination, Nefertiri. Achsu-rai is fine, and Imhotep is_...Well, Imhotep was something, but she wasn't quite sure what yet. 

Achsu-rai and Imhotep had by now ended their conversation (with raised voices, Nefertiri noted) and as Imhotep stalked away the Medjai noticed her standing across the way. With an almost imperceptible jerk of his head, he indicated the other side of the hallway. What did he want her to do? Soon he had disappeared behind one of the stone pillars that lined the far wall. After a decent amount of time had passed, so as not to produce suspicion, she innocently walked across the hallway to the pillar and disappeared into its shadows as well.

"Achsu-rai?" she whispered, trying to focus her eyes in the dim light. "Achsu-rai, where--" Her words was transformed into a delighted scream as Achsu-rai descended upon her from the shadows. "Scare easily, don't we?" he asked before sweeping her into his arms and muffling her complaints with kisses.

"I have to tell you something," she said moments later, knowing if she didn't say it now she'd be far too distracted to form sentences. "I...I had a dream. It wasn't quite right, everything was a little different, somehow, but...Imhotep was there, he, he took me away from you, and then he told them to kill you--"

"Shh, it was just a nightmare."

"But if both are having them..."

Achsu-rai, unlike the princess, by now had the benefit of weeks to calm down and rationalize his dream, so he was trying to be less panicky about the situation now. "Nefertiri, we must have faith in the power of our love. I will protect you, I promise."

"Something bigger than us is coming, Achsu-rai. Something incredibly important, I just don't know quite what yet."

"Whatever it is, fate will tell us when it is time."

"But what if I can't save you...what if we can't save each other?" 

"Stop that. If we trust in each other, and in ourselves, we will be fine. I promise," he said, drawing her into a hug to reassure himself, too. "These last few weeks...Nefertiri, these last few weeks have been as close to paradise as any mortal could hope to come. I will _never_ let you go. Everything's going to work out, it has to."

"How do you know?"

"Because I believe in fate."

Nefertiri smiled, but her eyes were still teary. "And I believe in you, Achsu-rai."

He pulled out her embrace. "I was going to save this, but...Close your eyes," he instructed her, and she obeyed. From behind his back he produced a shining golden ring. It had been his mother's, the family heirloom, their most treasured possession. It was perfect. The center stone had reminded him of Nefertiri's personality--fiery, full of life. He knew that whatever happened between them, whatever path their fate took, a part of him would always be with her. 

Nefertiri couldn't resist opening her eyes as he slipped the ring on her finger. Tiny aquamarine stones lined the edges, the shining gold of the center strip interrupted by a single, dazzling diamond. 

"You looked!"

"I'm sorry, I just...Achsu-rai, this is beautiful."

"Not compared to you, my love. It was my mother Anna's."

"Oh, Achsu-rai, I couldn't--"

"You must. She would have wanted someone like you to have it. Someone kind and beautiful and amazing, just like she was. She came to Egypt from the island of Cyprus when she was just a little girl," he explained. "Her father was a very wealthy merchant, and his ship wrecked off Egypt's coast. He fell in love with the country, so they stayed. And many years later, my father fell in love with Anna."

"You have her eyes, don't you?"

He smiled sadly. "My father always said so, yes."

"Well that's two gifts she's given me, then. Three, counting you."

"You are the one who has given me a gift, darling Nefertiri. These last few weeks I have realized that I never truly knew happiness until I met you."

"Nor I," she replied, still choking back the torrent of tears. "But what if--"

"Don't think such things," he hushed her, wiping away a single crystal tear that had managed to escape. "Whenever you look at this ring, think of me...even if I _am_ gone from this world."

The nightmare was still fresh in her memories and her fear finally forced the tears out. "Don't say that." 

"I'm sorry. But remember I will always be with you, even when we are apart."

"Never leave, and that problem will be solved."

"I don't intend to." With that he leaned forward and did his best to make her stop thinking about the nightmares, starting with kissing away each and every single tear that had dared dampen her perfect face. He found it so easy to forget everything else whilst kissing the princess, as if the simple equation of his mouth exploring hers could overcome all the evils of the world. 

"On second thought," he interrupted their increasingly passionate bliss, "I must go at the moment, but it's only a temporary absence, I promise."

"You're leaving me for my father, aren't you?" she asked, putting on a little pout that she knew he found irresistible.

"Oh, Nefertiri, you were bound to find out sooner or later," Achsu-rai said with a wink. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow? Why aren't you--" 

He silenced her protest with another kiss, then whispered, "I have another surprise for you. Make sure you wear something warm. See you then." 

With one last embrace he departed, leaving her alone behind the pillar. Her eyes had adjusted to the light, and though it was dim, the aquamarine stones twinkled up at her like they were sharing some wonderful secret. 

~*~*~*~

I love metaphors. 


	14. Getting Frisky with the Pharaoh's Daught...

Thanks everyone! I love y'all:) *hugs for everyone* Sorry this took so long, I AM SO FREAKING BUSY with end-of-the-year crap and this fic takes a lot more effort than does Confession. But I figured I'd be nice and post since I wasn't doing homework anyway;)

Sare, it was "Close your eyes." Sob! 

Tigerwolf, I do believe that it was alternate-dimension-vampire-Willow who said that, which would have made the episode either "The Wish" or "DoppelgangLand." But I haven't watched "Seeing Red," so I'm not completely sure. *shrugs* I'll see if I can fit the line in, but I'm not making any promises...:)

MBooker, if I had cloning technology, I sure would make a copy of Achsu-rai for you. Hey, that would be a great little business...like grow-a-dates, only life size....heh heh:)

Tanith....ha! Two or three more chapters....more like sixteen....I do hope you enjoy:)

Also, I forgot to thank Jetso the Red Red Sky Tail (formerly midwinterstorm, I believe?) for her review of chapter 12...you rock! thank you! I love long, detailed reviews like that:)

Chapter 14

"Getting Frisky with the Pharaoh's Daughter"

Nefertiri had already been awake for hours when her father sent for her. She found it hard to sleep without Achsu-rai there to hold her. She occupied her time by wondering what surprise he could possibly have to top the ring, because the ring seemed a gift more fabulous than the sun and the moon and the stars put together. To think that it had once belonged to his mother, and that he thought enough of Nefertiri to give the ring to her, filled her heart with such joy it almost made up for his absence. Almost. 

Because she had nothing else to do, she quickly made her way to the pharaoh's chambers as soon as she was summoned. Before entering, she took a deep breath, hoping to the gods that she would not see Anck-su-namun there. But Seti was alone, munching on his breakfast and chatting with a young Medjai who stood next to the door. He seemed too familiar to Nefertiri, like she had just seen him...

"Ah, Nefertiri," said her father. "Khalil, leave us for a moment, would you?"

Khalil's gaze lingered for a moment on the princess before he bowed and left them alone. She watched after him, trying desperately to figure out where'd she'd seen him. 

"Join me, daughter. We have much to discuss."

"My pleasure, father." Nefertiri sat across from him and eyed the table full of food warily. "I hope your morning is going well."

"Marvelously. The barley used to make this bread must have been planted by the gods, I swear it is that good."

"We had an excellent harvest this year," she replied politely, trying to ignore the fact that her stomach was becoming increasingly queasy with each bite she watched her father take. 

"Would you like some breakfast?" Seti ripped off a chunk of break and waved it at the princess, but she quickly shook her head, no.

"What did you want to see me about, father?" she asked, suddenly eager to be gone. 

"Ah, yes. Nefertiri, I have something important to tell you." Seti shoved another lump of bread into his mouth and proceeded to chew it thoroughly. "Firstly, however, I have noticed lately that you been in better spirits. I like to think that the duty of guarding the Bracelet has placed you on the path to becoming a mature woman, worthy of the title of Protector."

"Thank you, father."

"That aside, I'd like to discuss marriage--"

"What? No!" Nefertiri shrieked. "Have you been talking to Imhotep? Don't listen to anything he tells you! I don't want to get married, you can't just auction me off to some--"

"Nefertiri!" cried the pharaoh, shocked. "Not _your_ marriage. By the gods, you may be mature, but you are not nearly adult enough to handle marriage, apparently."

"Not my marriage?" Nefertiri slid back down in her chair. "Oh. Well, father, go on then."

"I swear, daughter, the things that get into your head--"

"If only you knew, father."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. What did you wish to tell me?"

Still a bit puzzled at his daughter's reaction, Seti was nevertheless eager to share his news, so he let the matter pass. "The marriage we discuss is mine. I am to marry directly before the next festival."

Nefertiri looked at him blankly. "You? Marry...who?"

"Your trainer, Anck-su-namun. I believe she will make me an excellent wife, and our feelings for each other--"

"Your feelings for each other?" she interrupted. In the midst of her anger, she felt a twinge of sympathy for Anck...for goodness sake, Seti couldn't even say her name right! 

"Yes, we--"

"She's nothing but a whore, father--"

"Nefertiri! You will not talk of your mother in that manner!"

"She is not my mother! None of your wives will ever replace her."

"I thought you'd be pleased for us," said Seti. "I was under the impression that you two were great friends."

"That was before she made her way to your bed. It was then that she lost my trust."

"Insolent girl!" Seti cried. "How dare you speak to me in such a manner?"

"I will speak to you however I please! You have already taken everything else away from me, will you forbid me to speak as well?"

Seti rose from the table. Nefertiri could see him almost shaking with rage, but she held her head high and refused to back down. "Get out of my sight," her father hissed. "You are confined to your chambers until you have learned to act like an adult."

Nefertiri didn't argue as Khalil led her out of the room. "Princess," he started, then appeared to think better of it and halted his speech. 

"What?" she snapped. 

"It's just...never mind."

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

"I am Khalil, brother of Achsu-rai."

Her expression seemed to soften, but her dream had leapt from the back of her mind again. She tried to push it away. "Oh, yes. Of course. That must be where I recognize you from. Yes, that...must be it."

"The pharaoh's restricted her to her chambers," Tahir whispered as Achsu-rai approached her room that night. "I think they had a fight, she's very upset."

"Has she told you anything?"

"No. I think it'll do you good to see you, she's had a hard day."

No sooner had Achsu-rai entered the room than Nefertiri flew to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I've discovered that going more than a day without seeing your face is unbearable," she said.

"I'm here now, it's okay."

"Where have you been?"

"Wishing I was with you, believe me."

Nefertiri released her hold on Achsu-rai. "He's marrying her."

"What?"

"My father is going to marry Anck-su-namun."

"You're not serious."

"I am! Why would I joke about something like this?"

"Are you okay?"

If the tears hadn't already begun to trickle down her face, now they were let loose, and her emotions poured out with them. "No. Everything precious I've ever known is taken from me. I've already lost my best friend, and I'm losing my father. He's all I have left with Ramses always away, and I've never been close to any of my brothers except him. Ever since my mother died, I've felt like I had to hold onto the people in my life, watch over them so they would always be with me. Clearly, it hasn't worked very well. Now she's taken my father away from me, too. And he is left with everything. I don't want to hate her, I just....He _always_ has everything, and he forgets about me in the process."

"Hey," he said, "you've still got me. And you always will."

Through the tears came a tiny smile. "I know. You're the only reason I'm still breathing. I couldn't bear to lose you, too, Achsu-rai."

"Don't worry. This matter will pass."

Nefertiri shook her head, as if cringing at the mere memory of the day. "You know what makes it worse? I yelled at him. He hates me now. I truly believe I have lost him, Achsu-rai. I don't know what to do."

"He doesn't hate you. He loves you. You are just looking out for him, and he knows that." 

She began to cry again, no longer able to hold back the tears that had built up over the day. "It'll be all right," he said, simply because he could think of no other words to reassure her. He could only hold her as she cried, her sobs rising and falling as he held her tight against him, wishing somehow that he could protect her from her own sorrow. But he could not protect her now, not against her own mind. There were some things that she had to do without him, no matter how much he wanted to help.

"Now," he said when the tears had subsided somewhat, "about that surprise..."

~*~*~*~

Now what could our splendiferously fantastic boyfriend Achsu-rai have up his sleeve?:)

I realize in ancient Egypt girls got married really really young, but noblewomen did get married slightly later, and Seti's comment about maturity and marriage was just a reaction to her "immature" outburst.

If you've read, you might as well review, right?:) It would be much appreciated:)


	15. The Cost of a Glance

If my calculations are correct, PZB was the 300th reviewer....love ya! :) Also thanks go out to Linser, Mija, Tigerwolf, Seletha, Jeebis (love you:), TGG14, jj, Sare, Marrokinhas, Alli, MBooker, Dylan (I _wish_ someone would take my finals for me, lol! btw, loved your review!:), DancinEvy, Craklyn (_very_ impressive!:), Angel Ruse, Kat, and Katie...

Kat...I don't remember how I came up with the name Achsu-rai (I _do_ remember how the title of the story came about...it was from a lecture I went to on finding fulfillment in your career...inspiration comes from strange places!:)...I think Achsu-rai's name was just sort of a trial and error process of putting random syllables together, and voila! The perfect guy was born! Well, not perfect...things are gonna start to go downhill in a little while...I mean, look at the summary! But in the meantime, this chapter consists mostly of fluffy romantic nonsense (plus a bit of TM references for fun:). These two deserve a bit of happiness! Think of it as the calm before the storm...*grins evilly* Now here's a nice, long chapter for ya...enjoy...;)

Chapter 15

The Cost of a Glance

"Do you have a sweater or something? It can get pretty cold outside at night."

"But I'm not even supposed to leave my room--"

"You're also not supposed to have an affair with the leader of the Medjai. What's one more rule broken?" Achsu-rai took Nefertiri's hand and pulled her out the door. "Come on, it's getting late already."

"Where are we going? What's in that bag?"

"Impatient, aren't we? You'll see."

They made their way past the watchful eye of Tahir. _Apparently he _did_ know, after all_, Nefertiri thought.

"I didn't see you in court this morning," said Achsu-rai. "Where were you?"

"I didn't feel very good. Nobody notices when I'm gone, anyway."

He gave her a wink and her heart melted yet again. "I notice."

Suddenly he turned left into a dark hallway that she did not recognize. Achsu-rai placed his hand on a nondescript tile that was inlaid into the pattern of the wall. With only slight pressure the wall began to move backwards, revealing itself to be a hidden door. Nefertiri gasped. "What is this?" she asked. 

"It's a secret passageway, what else? We use it if we need to get your father to safety."

"And for late night trysts with lovers, as well?"

"Of course."

They stepped into the darkened corridor, Achsu-rai lighting a torch as they walked deeper and deeper into the darkness. The hallway was plain, constructed with nothing more than mud and bricks. The dirt-lined floor crept into gloom, and if Nefertiri listened very carefully, she thought she could hear the scurrying of rats and scarabs in those shadowy corners. 

None too soon, they emerged from the corridor and suddenly stood at the edge of nothing. The desert stretched out before them in a rolling tapestry of sand, and the black sky soared equally as infinitely above their heads. Stars poked through the shade of the night, the moon glowing cheerily down at civilization as Achsu-rai spread a few blankets onto the sand. 

"I thought it might be nice to get out of the palace."

"Achsu-rai, this is perfect. You're so wonderful."

"I know," he said with a grin as they cuddled close together underneath the blankets, using each other for warmth as the chill of the dark descended around them. 

"I love the night," said Nefertiri.

"So do I," he replied, concentrating more on the trail of kisses he had started down her neck than on her words. 

"No, silly, I mean the sky. The stars. They're so perfect. A thousand years from now, we'll still be looking at the same patterns in the sky. Do you think man will be around a thousand years from now?"

"Without a doubt," he mumbled.

"Do you think we'll be together in a thousand years?"

"Absolutely." 

"I was asking a serious question, Achsu-rai."

"And I gave a serious answer. Life would be absolutely unbearable without you. We must always be together; fate would not play such a cruel trick on us."

"But how will you recognize me?"

"Because you will be the most beautiful creature I have ever seen," he said, propping himself up on one elbow. "Any goddesses I may encounter will wilt in comparison to your radiance. You will rescue me from a life of drudgery and monotony, perhaps from the jaws of death itself, for life without you is clearly not life at all. _That_ is how I will know." 

"Love at first sight, then?"

"I will be helpless to your charms, my phoenix."

"And how will _I_ recognize _you_?" 

"Well, I will already know it's you, so it will be but a matter of time before I convince you that I am your one true love. I don't see how you could resist."

"You are too sure of yourself, Achsu-rai."

"You don't believe me? Fine. I shall give you a kiss, and then you will know it's me."

"How rude of you, we've never met."

"Forgive me in advance, then." 

"Did you love me the first time you saw me?"

"No."

"Oh," Nefertiri said, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. "When was it, then?"

"It was the first night of the festival. You caught my eye from all the way across the room, just for a moment. It was just a fleeting glance, like always. But that glance was the first time I looked into your soul. There was more to that one look than every other time I'd ever seen the precious princess. I saw _you_, Nefertiri, for the first time." 

"One glance, and you were gone?" 

"Completely."

"Took you long enough to realize it."

Achsu-rai placed his forehead against hers, savoring her touch as though his heart knew their time together was drawing short. "I just hope we don't pay for the cost of that glance with our lives."

"It's going to be okay," she whispered. "We just have to believe."

That was just it, Achsu-rai reflected. When he was with her, everything _was_ okay. Nefertiri was the sunlight, she was what made life tolerable in these uncertain times. It was only when she was not with him, when they were apart, that a terrible sense of apprehension settled over the Medjai's thoughts like a dark cloud. It was then that he allowed himself to fear for the future. 

Nefertiri awoke to see a pair of blue eyes staring intently down at her. "Sleep well?" they asked, and she responded by kissing him lightly on the lips, still too drowsy to form words. "We have to get back," he continued. "It's almost light out, and Tahir can only make so many excuses for you."

"Mmm hmm," she responded, allowing him to help her to her feet, then watching as he shook the sand from the blankets and folded them up. He then took her hand and they walked back to the hidden door, making their way through the passageway in the cool morning air. They walked slowly, as they always did when they had to part at the end of their journey, so as to extend their time together. Nefertiri leaned against Achsu-rai, breathing in his scent. When he was away the mere minutes seemed to stretch into hours, and since she was never sure when she'd see him again, she always took extra care to remember the details when he left. It was the only way she got through those insufferable days. 

They reluctantly detached from each other as they emerged from the passage, walking a respectable distance from each other down the hallway so as not to produce suspicion in anyone they happened to pass. _We're getting quite good at hiding this_, mused Nefertiri. _It's almost too easy, anymore..._

That morning the palace seemed virtually empty, and Achsu-rai reached out across the span of the hallway to take Nefertiri's hand. He kissed it, drawing her closer to him as they continued to walk. She knew she should pull away, walk in the opposite direction...someone might see them. But she didn't, she simply decided to be grateful for these extra few minutes of closeness. Every minute with Achsu-rai was blessed, and she didn't intend to relinquish a single one. 

That didn't stop her stomach from somersaulting painfully into her throat as a figure rounded the corner up ahead. Achsu-rai innocently stepped away from her, already rehearsing in his head an excuse for being so close to the princess...but it was only Khalil who hurried toward them. Achsu-rai's relief quickly turned to concern, however, as Khalil neared him. If he didn't know better, Khalil almost looked as though he were about to cry.

"What's wrong, Khalil? What's happened?"

"Achsu-rai, he--he's asking for you."

"Who?"

Khalil's voice cracked as he answered. "Father."

~*~*~*~

Whew. And we are approximately halfway done with the story, chapter-wise. Don't worry, there's still A LOT to come! Hahahahhahahahahahhaha......

Reviews are rewarded with good karma:)


	16. Don't Do Anything I Wouldn't Do

I don't know if this is going to post or not, but I figured I'd try before I go on vacation because I won't be at a computer for the next week (woo hoo! going to a Mariners game! yes!!!!:) Also when I get back I'll catch up on reading, cuz I know I'm a bit behind:)

Jetso, you've set my mind reeling with questions, only some of which I have the answers to! Here's a few of them:)...Climax! Ha! Much more is coming, trust me. But things _are _getting pretty crazy from now on...About the ring, it's not Egyptian, it's from Cyprus (via Achsu-rai's mother's family), so let's just say that somewhere on Cyprus someone knew how to cut a diamond and they placed it in this ring, which weaves inexplicably through time and space and eternity, so therefore I (and mithwith agrees:) figure it has to be slightly magical in the first place;)....

Jetso also brought up something I felt I should clarify for everyone. Ardeth is not telling this story, they are literally living it...like in a dream-world, sort of...get it? Go back and read chapter one if I'm totally confusing you :)

Hel, I think there would be a contract out on my head if I didn't see this through, lol! :) It's completely planned out and partly written, so you can rest assured that I will finish :) Thanks for recommending my story, that means a lot! :)

Dylan, I am done with finals, thank the Lord, although they might have gone a bit better than they did:( Now I am working for the summer, ick, but at least there's no homework:)...

Also many many thanks to all of my readers :)

Chapter 16

Don't Do Anything I Wouldn't Do

Achsu-rai reached the base camp in record time. His father had been staying in one of the little huts on it's outskirts, in as much comfort as he would accept. Seti would certainly have granted him a feather bed and a physician in the palace, but Nomanre would not take such charity. The Medjai leader was growing old, that was true, but he would not step down from the lofty heights that were his principles. Achsu-rai admired his father, that was true, but at the same time cursed his stubbornness. 

He took a moment for his eyes to adjust in the dim light, then slowly approached the bed. A warrior...but above all things a father. Strong, invincible...turned frail, weak... Haima, Achsu-rai's young cousin, sat watch over the Medjai leader with a cool rag in her hand and tears in her eyes. 

"How is he?" Achsu-rai asked gently, not wanting to wake him.

"Bad," Haima said. "Worse. I'm sorry, Achsu-rai."

"Would you...would you leave us alone?"

"Certainly."

Haima rose from her vigil and left father and son alone. When Achsu-rai looked back at Nomanre, the old man was wide awake and staring at him intently. "Who is she?" he asked.

"That was Haima. Your niece."

"No, I mean the girl. The one you're in love with. Who is she? Don't look at me like that, you think I don't hear things?"

"How _do_ you know that?"

"I know nothing! I only know there's someone. I know you gave her Anna's ring, didn't you?"

"Oh. Well, I just..."

For a dying man, Nomanre managed to pick up on a lot of things. "What are you doing explaining yourself? It belongs to your love now, just as Anna would have wanted. You do love her, don't you?"

"More than anything."

"So who is she?"

"Her name is Nefertiri."

Nomanre gave a short laugh, which soon turned into a minor coughing fit. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he insisted as Achsu-rai attempted to help him drink. He took some water anyway, then lay back on the thin mattress with a sigh. "Never get old, Achsu-rai. It is very difficult to live this long." 

"I'll keep that in mind."

A smile still played around Nomanre's eyes. "So, was she named after the princess, then?"

"I suppose."

"She must be very young, then. The princess is only, what, 16, 17--"

"Eighteen."

"Ah, right, of course. Did she like the ring?"

"Very much."

"Who is her father?"

"A noble of great importance."

"I see. Might I know him?"

"Perhaps."

"You're very good at this game, aren't you Achsu-rai? I can see you have practice."

"Love is a dangerous game, father. When one breaks the rules, one must know the consequences."

"Breaking the rules? How out of character for you, son. Perhaps this Nefertiri of yours has taught you a thing or two."

"She has taught me to live."

"Is she worth all this?"

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Nomanre sighed heavily, closing his eyes as if the weight of the world had become too much of a burden to keep them open. "I fear for you, my son. But I trust you."

"Thank you, father."

The great Medjai warrior opened his eyes once more and fumbled behind the pillow. "I have something to give you, Achsu-rai. Something that may foretell your destiny, if I have read the stars correctly."

"You can tell the future now?"

"By Osiris, I hope not," Nomanre replied. "For if what I have seen is true..."

That horrible feeling was back in the pit of Achsu-rai's stomach. "You have had a vision?"

"No. Just a feeling. But a certain one."

Nomanre drew something wrapped in cloth out from behind the pillow. He carefully unfolded it from the covering. A tiny golden star surrounded by a half circle came into view, and as the rest of the cloth fell away Achsu-rai realized what it was. "The Scepter of Osiris," he said. "It's been in the family ages, father, what--"

"No," Nomanre interrupted. "It is not a scepter. It is a spear."

"What? But--"

"Achsu-rai, this is important. Your destiny is intertwined with this spear, I have sensed it. You must leave the Spear of Osiris with someone you trust, 'til you have need of it."

"This is about the Bracelet of Anubis, isn't it? It's something to do with Nefertiri."

"Ah," Nomanre said, closing his eyes once more and resting his weary head back on the pillow. "I knew you'd slip up sooner or later, son."

"You already knew."

"Perhaps I did. Your fate is surely connected to the Protector of the Bracelet, I am not surprised."

"But what does this have to do with me? What am I to do, defeat the Scorpion King?" Achsu-rai laughed, but the tone was nervous. "Everyone knows that is just a myth--"

"Then why do you place so much faith in the Bracelet, Achsu-rai? Why must we protect the Bracelet if there is no truth to the legends?"

"The Bracelet is nothing but a piece of jewelry, father. I have never placed faith in it."

"And yet you instructed your beloved to guard it, without knowing its full power?"

"It was just to give her something to do, to make the pharaoh happy--"

"Too big of a coincidence, if you ask me. But what do I know? I do not have all the answers, Achsu-rai. My part is over. I pray you will fulfill your fate well."

"Father..."

Nomanre's eyes were clear, bright. "I love you, my son. Do not mourn for me, there is too much more you must do." With a final sigh, he closed his eyes once more. 

Achsu-rai bowed his head, but he could not allow himself to cry. Not now, not yet. He allowed himself only a moment of silent grief before rising, gently drawing the covers over his father's tranquil face. He took a deep breath and exited the tent, and went to meet his destiny. 

~*~*~*~

I'd love some reviews to read when I get back:)


	17. Destroyed a Thousand Times

A "geeky technical note" for ya;)...This chapter was always part of my original concept, and while I rewrote most of my earliest notes, the vision scene is still pretty much exactly as I first wrote it, barring minor revisions.

Princess of the Darkness, your reviews were much appreciated! You rock! :)

Title belongs to Sting ("A Thousand Years"...go listen:)

Chapter 17

Destroyed a Thousand Times

Nefertiri covered her face as she wound her way through the Medjai camp, relying on pure luck to find someone she recognized. She'd never come here before; Achsu-rai had always said it was too dangerous to chance someone seeing her. There was no way, however, that she was going to stay away now. She had to find him. 

Out of the corner of her eye Nefertiri saw Khalil exit one of the shelters, carrying a small child in his arms. She hurried over to him, forgetting to conceal her face. As soon as he saw her, he set the child down and pulled her to the side.

"Your highness, how did you get here?"

"A secret passageway, what else?"

Khalil sighed. "I told him he shouldn't have showed you that."

"I feel a bit faint, might we sit down?"

"Of course. Are you all right, Princess?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I've been a bit ill of late, but I think I'm finally getting over it."

He directed her to a short bench. "That's good to hear."

"Khalil, I'm so sorry. About your father. I know what he meant to the both of you."

Khalil smiled, his face betraying the lines of grief that had aged his handsome face in an instant. "Thank you for your condolences, highness. But I must insist you get back to the palace at once."

"Where is Achsu-rai?"

"I don't know, he's disappeared."

"Well, when will he be back?"

"I don't know, highness. Perhaps I should escort you back to the palace."

"Does he trust you?"

"What?"

"Achsu-rai. Does he trust you?"

"He tells me so."

"Then I am going to tell you something, Khalil. I'm terrified."

"Of...of what, highness?"

Nefertiri looked skyward. "The future. The end is coming. I can feel it at the back of my mind, on the tip of my tongue, always there, haunting me. I don't know what I'm expected to do." 

"Perhaps..." Khalil began. "No. You must get back to the palace before someone realizes you are missing."

"What, Khalil? What were you going to say? Tell me." 

"Achsu-rai would kill me."

"What?"

"There is a woman...she...she knows things. She tells people their future, but only if they need to know."

"Would you take me to her?"

"But Achsu-rai--"

"I don't care. I demand you take me to her, or I'll report you to my father."

"Your father would certainly not approve of this woman."

"He will believe what I tell him," Nefertiri said coldly, drawing on the ancestral instinct that had commanded nations and made many a man stronger than Khalil cower before the throne. "Take me to her. _Now_."

As they drew even with the hut, Nefertiri's steps faltered and she looked again to Khalil for assurance. "What should I--"

"She'll know you're coming," Khalil told her. "That is, if she has anything to tell you."

"Thank you," Nefertiri said, before drawing aside the door flap. Khalil caught her arm before she could duck through it. 

"Are you sure you want to know? If there's something coming...wouldn't it be better to leave it up to fate?"

"I've had enough with waiting around for fate. I have to know."

Khalil nodded and released her arm. "Knowledge is powerful, highness. Use it wisely."

Nefertiri stepped into the shadowy tent and her senses were immediately attacked by a combination of darkness and strange smells. 

"You have come to see me," came a voice from the gloom. 

"Yes," Nefertiri said. She stepped forward a little more and focused her eyes on the Medjai woman that sat there. She wove some sort of incense around, the smoke curling up and over them to form a hazy film at the ceiling. Without another word, the woman beckoned for her visitor to sit with her, then clasped her withered hands with the younger woman's, squeezing them tight. The veins of her hands seemed almost black in semi-darkness; the purple tint of her robes gave her an aura of the mystical. To Nefertiri, it seemed like hours before the old woman began to speak again. 

"A terrible storm hovers over Thebes. It waits in the wings to slay its victims. The palace will be in ruin."

"Someone's going to attack the palace?" 

"No. Only its inhabitants. I see...two souls struck down...three. Four, five, six...seven..." The princess shivered as the old woman reeled off the numbers. "One survivor, to tell the tale....Much bloodshed. In the name of love. In the name of lust. In the name of loyalty. There are many misguided souls wandering the palace, waiting their turn for fate to drag them to the underworld."

"Am I one of seven? Am I to die?"

"Hush, child, and be patient. The Bracelet, yes the Bracelet. The man who has cursed you is already here, I can feel him. He will not be able to save you, poor child. He will not be able to save himself."

"Who? Who is he?"

"Patience, child. Indeed, you must be patient. Three thousand years will pass before I can give you the answers. Before your death." 

"Three thousand years? I'm not going to die for--" 

"Don't be silly, child, no one lives that long. No one except..." Now it was the old woman's turn to shiver. "You must stop the Creature, or all will be lost! No, you _will_ stop him." She furrowed her brow in concentration. "The man who has cursed you is there, also. You must not lose sight of this man, he is your protector. You must watch over him, as well...But it will not be enough. Poor man. He is so sad."

"But he's the one that cursed me!" 

"Quiet, my child...child." She paused. "Yes, I sense another soul...but you will not know him quite yet." 

"For three thousand years, I suppose," Nefertiri said dryly. 

The old woman opened her eyes. They were foggy at first, then cleared as she focused on the princess. "Poor child."  
"Stop calling me that!" Nefertiri pulled her hands away. 

"I do not speak of you. I speak of the child within you. He will wait, patiently. He waits for your death."

With that the old woman collapsed onto the blanket. Nefertiri sat there, frozen. Most of what the Medjai woman had said flew from her mind as she focused on the last fragment. That, at least, she could understand. 

Nefertiri was with child. 

~*~*~*~

Talk about an oracle--MBooker mentioned that possibility in her review of chapter 13, which was the chapter before I first started hinting at it! Wow! :) Things are getting complicated . . . :)


	18. Curses, Foiled Again!

I just had to say that you guys all rock. Thanks! :)

Chapter 18

Curses, Foiled Again!

Khalil had to sprint to catch the princess, who'd flown out of the tent after what seemed like mere moments inside. He held fast to her arm as she struggled to run away, and as he looked at her he realized her eyes were glistening with tears. 

"What happened, princess?"

"Something horrible is about to happen," she said. "Something horrible." 

"What did she tell you?"

"Some things I should have already known, and some things I wish I didn't."

"I see you have picked up Achsu-rai's talent for cryptic comments." 

"I think I'm going to die," she whispered. "I think we're all going to die."

She slipped out of his grasp and dashed from the camp, running all the way across the expanse of sand to the hidden door, down the passageway and back to her room, never stopping once. 

Achsu-rai was less than pleased when the first person he encountered upon entering the palace was Imhotep. He needed to see a friendly face, not get into yet another confrontation with that blasted man. 

"Achsu-rai, I've just heard the sad news," said Imhotep. "I'd like to offer my condolences. Nomanre was a wonderful leader, we will all miss him dearly."

"I wasn't aware that you were close, Imhotep," the Medjai snapped. "In fact, I believe he told me on several occasions to watch my back around you."

The priest's eyes narrowed, but he kept his cool. "The past is the past, Achsu-rai. Let us bury it."

"Death is only the beginning, Imhotep. Nothing stays buried."

Imhotep let out a breath through his teeth. "I wanted to speak with you again about the Protector of the Bracelet."

"I thought that was already settled." 

"I still don't think the princess is responsible enough to handle it. I was going to suggest to Seti that Anck-su-namun guard the Bracelet, instead. She is older and more--"

"She is only older by a few years, and besides, she has the duty of protecting her new husband to worry about. It will help to have an extra pair of eyes."

At this Imhotep only seemed to grow more irritated. "I really think that--"

"You know what?" Achsu-rai snapped. "I don't care what you think. It's decided, it's over, drop the subject."

Imhotep did not even bother with the formality of a goodbye. He simply turned on his heel and stalked away. Achsu-rai rolled his eyes. He did not have time to deal with such childishness. That priest was more trouble than he was worth. 

Before he knew it, his feet had taken him to Nefertiri's quarters. Tahir was nowhere to be seen, and her door was locked, though he could hear noise inside. With a few deft movements he had the door unlocked, pushing it open hesitantly to reveal his princess collapsed at the foot of her bed, weeping. He rushed to her, though she pulled away as if his touch burned her. "No," she whispered. "No, no, no..."

"Darling Nefertiri, what is wrong?"

She said nothing, but the tears continued to creep down her face. She allowed him to take her into his arms, sobbing silently as he held her. Finally, she spoke...

"I don't want you to die."

"What?"

"It's not fair, they can't do this to us..."

"Nefertiri, what are you talking about?"

Her eyes were mournful, still filled with tears. "She told me...she told me something bad is going to happen. People are going to die."

"What? Who told you?"

"Your oracle. She said that--"

"You saw the oracle? What the hell were you thinking?"

Nefertiri shrunk away from him. "I'm sorry, I just--"

"Nefertiri, it does no good to know the future!"

"But we must prevent it! I don't want to lose you, I don't want you to die!"

"She told you I was going to die?"

"No, no, not exactly. She told me you wouldn't be able to save us."

Achsu-rai sighed, and began to wipe the tears from her face. "Nefertiri, those are just words. Nothing is going to happen, I promise."

She continued to cry, and he simply held her, knowing his own words would do no good either. How had everything changed so fast? One moment they'd been happy just to be together, consequences be damned, and in the very next, the world had begun to crumble around them...

"Oh, Achsu-rai...your father...I'm so sorry about your father."

"Thank you. He wanted to meet you." 

"You told him?"

"No, he just...knew. Fathers have an annoying way of doing that, I guess." 

"Were you...were you with him?"

"Yes." 

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"He tried to tell me my destiny," he said quietly. 

"What?"

"Everyone tries to tell me what I'm supposed to do. Who I'm supposed to be. I'm going to make my own destiny, I won't listen to them! I don't have to listen to them!"

After this he fell silent, and Nefertiri did the same, not knowing what to say to such a sudden outburst. Did he include her in that group? Was she trying to make him something he didn't want to be? How would he react when she told him about the child? Another consequence he hadn't asked for...but neither had she! Nefertiri felt anger rise up in her at the thought that he wouldn't want the child. What if he didn't want _her_?...

"I'm sorry, Nefertiri," he said, his weak voice melting her thoughts of building resentment. "I just..."

"Hush, it's all right," she comforted. "It's going to be all right."

Achsu-rai didn't fight the tears that were beginning to slip out of his own eyes. Nefertiri automatically reached a hand forward to brush them away, but they came too fast. She settled instead for kissing him gently, and he responded with a fervor that surprised her. He lifted her gently up off the floor and lowered her down back onto the bed, hands already skillfully working free the constraints of her nightgown. Her body seemed perfectly willing to surrender to his persistent attentions, but her mind was screaming that she should tell him...she had to tell him...

"Achsu-rai," she whispered. "I...I need to tell you something else. Something the oracle told me."

"Later," he said, and captured her mouth again, seeking the solace that only she could give. Nefertiri didn't resist this time, herself needing the simple truth of his touch to tell her everything was all right...she pushed away the thoughts of that afternoon, concentrating on his caresses, his words, his kisses....it _would_ be all right. It had to be.

Imhotep, however, knew that that wasn't the case. As he turned from the balcony and the sight of Nefertiri and her lover across the way, he felt with a horrible conviction that the end was coming...and he feared not only for himself and his love, but for his young friend...

They were all going to burn. How badly, however, had yet to be seen...

~*~*~*~

Oh no! Imhotep knows! I was sensing a little Anakin Skywalker-ish anger when I wrote Achsu-rai's little outburst. Heh heh. Totally different, don't worry, Achsu-rai isn't gonna turn into Darth Vader or anything ;)

But if you don't review, Darth Vader will come down from the planet Vulcan and melt your brains. Bonus points for telling me what movie that's from :)


	19. Thunderclouds Gather

I appreciate everyone's comments so so so so so much!!! You guys make this worthwhile, and I want you to know how much I value your support:) Sorry it takes me so long to post, I never have time to get online lately. 

All righty. Finally, the famed Nef/Anck fight scene. I'd just like to let y'all know that it took several million fast backwards to get down the sequencing of the movie scenes, so you'd better appreciate it, lol! :)

PS: Yes, BTTF, only just about the best movie in the world behind TM and When Harry Met Sally;) "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible!" :):):) 

Chapter 19

Thunderclouds Gather

It was Nefertiri's favorite part of morning. The sun had just begun to peek over the distant bronze horizon, rays piercing the foggy morning air as they crept over the sand. As light hit the palace, it began to sparkle, the opulent furnishings showing their worth as they reflected the gold of the rising sun. Today the clouds obscured the sun's beauty a little, but their auburn-tinged edges shone with a splendor of their own. 

Nefertiri stood watching nature's display on the balcony, slowly sipping the cup of tea Tahir brought her every morning. She tried desperately not to think about what day it was, but it was near impossible. Today meant everything, and Nefertiri was terrified of failing. She couldn't fail, not in front of her father, in front of Achsu-rai. And especially not because of Anck-su-namun. 

She felt Achsu-rai join her on the balcony, arms encircling her from behind for a brief hug before he departed. "You'll be there, right?" she asked him. "You're coming today?"

Achsu-rai kissed her on the cheek. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

_Where the hell is he? _Nefertiri thought angrily, butterflies dancing painfully in her throat. She clutched the sais with clammy hands, twirling them through her fingers as she waited for the crowd to calm down so the demonstration could commence. Anck-su-namun stood beside him, resting a hand on her fiancé's shoulder, the other holding the twin blades calmly. She shot a confident look Nefertiri's way, but the princess quickly stopped her fidgeting and sent one right back. No way was she going to let Anck-su-namun intimidate her. 

It would have helped, however, if Achsu-rai had shown up. He was not in the crowd, she was sure, and if he'd been there he would have been standing with Imhotep and the pharaoh anyway. Earlier, when Seti had announced his intention to marry Anck-su-namun, she thought she'd seen him standing near the back of the crowd, but it had turned out to be Khalil. Achsu-rai's brother seemed to be avoiding her, as well, refusing to meet her eyes across the room. _I'm overreacting,_ she told herself. _I'm just nervous. No one is avoiding me_...

Except her own father. He had not said two words to his daughter the entire day, confirming her suspicions at how deep his anger ran. Seti was not one to hold a grudge, which made her worry all the more. Nefertiri saw Anck-su-namun detach from the pharaoh's side for a moment, and decided to seize her chance. She stole her way over to her father's side and bowed low, not daring to look up until her acknowledged her. 

From the heavens came her father's voice, though it was crisp as the chill of the morning clouds. "Daughter," he said. "Is there something you would like to discuss?"

"I am so sorry for what I said, father. I can't stand the thought that I caused you hurt. I'm sure you and Anck-su-namun will be very happy together, and I wish you all the best."

She chanced a look upwards, and was relieved to find a sad smile now gracing the pharaoh's face. "Thank you, daughter. I know your mother's death was hard for you, but it was so long ago. I hope you can embrace Anck-su-namun as a friend, if nothing else."

"Oh, we are great friends, father, have no worries about that."

Seti turned away to accept the greetings of a local merchant, and Nefertiri was left to retreat, alone, back into her thoughts. Time crawled excruciatingly slowly, and all Nefertiri could do was wait. Wait for the fight to begin, wait for Achsu-rai to show up...

Wait for her fate. 

One clap, they turned away from each other. A second clap, and suddenly they whirled back, attacking with a level of intensity they had never reached in practice. After what seemed like mere moments of sparring, Anck-su-namun lunged, but Nefertiri easily deflected her back and assailed her opponent again. It was not enough, however, for Anck-su-namun quickly gained the upper hand again by striking Nefertiri viciously across her face, making a move to choke her. The princess escaped by kicking Anck in the face, and they were off across the room again. 

It took Anck resorting to her old tripping ploy to get Nefertiri to the floor, and she stood above her, triumphant. Nefertiri removed her mask, giving Anck a look of such pure hatred she was surprised that Seti did not observe it. 

"Put your mask on!" Anck-su-namun taunted. "Let's not scar that pretty face."

She did not heed her tutor's advice, rather, Nefertiri vaulted up from her position on the floor and snatched her weapons up again. Faces set with determination, they stood off for but a moment before charging again. They fought for longer this time, but still it was Anck who acquired the advantage, disarming Nefertiri with two quick swipes. She then flung her across the room, Nefertiri fighting to keep balance as she cartwheeled away and leapt up onto a narrow ledge. 

The princess looked back down at the ground to see Anck-su-namun pitch her weapons toward two unsuspecting statues and go across the room for a larger weapon. Nefertiri grabbed an ax on the wall and returned to ground level to face her opponent, who had taken hold of a spear from the other wall. They each twirled their weapons as they moved toward each other, finally meeting in a clash of blows that ceased only when Anck-su-namun sprung off a nearby urn and was able to deflect Nefertiri's ax. 

By now they had abandoned all pretenses of good training and were fighting with pure ferocity, simply lashing out with huge swipes of their weapons wherever they could get a shot in. Anck-su-namun again disarmed the princess, spinning her spear hazardously close to Nefertiri as she backed away. The latter finally was able to take hold of the spear, grappling for a moment before Anck flipped Nefertiri over her shoulder. Suddenly Nefertiri was lying on the ground, beaten, Anck-su-namun's blade perched precariously at the princess' throat. 

"You are learning quickly, Nefertiri," said the victor. "I'll have to watch my back."

"Yes," she replied. "And I'll watch mine."

Anck's face darkened, and Nefertiri wondered briefly if this was how it was going to end--death at the hands of the best friend she'd ever known, a friend tainted by bittersweet betrayal...but then Anck-su-namun backed away, and the moment passed. 

"Bravo, bravo!" cried Seti, oblivious to the animosity that had passed between the two women. "Who better to protect the Bracelet of Anubis than my lovely daughter, Nefertiri. And who better to protect _me_, than my future wife, Anck-su-namun." Anck bowed her head in deference, mocking his words, or so it seemed to Nefertiri. 

"Well done, daughter," said Seti, enveloping her in a rare hug. It seemed that their earlier fight had truly passed, she was once again his beloved daughter. 

Nefertiri's joy, however, was short-lived as she once again caught sight of Anck-su-namun. She was not, however, looking at the princess. No...she was looking at Imhotep. Something passed between them, a look that could only be borne of familiarity, of intimacy. Time seemed to slow as Nefertiri recognized it. She given the same look to Achsu-rai many times. Anck met the princess' eyes again, and in a flash Nefertiri thought she might have seen the girl she once knew...obedient, loyal, but...somehow defiant. Different. 

In love. 

~*~*~*~

Things that make Buffelyn happy...exact change...hugs...the Mariners winning...and reviews:):):)

I don't know if anyone else is having this problem, but when I hit the review button for the first time, the box is all slow and won't come up, but it will do it if you exit and click on it again. ???


	20. Leap of Faith

Yes, PZB, exact change. But you know what's even better? :) $.41. Yes, forty-one cents! You know why? Because it's one quarter, one dime, one nickel, and one penny! Hee hee! One must find little joys in the world of retail, for Lord knows they are few and far between ;)

Jennie, (number 400, thank you!!!:) I did say that TM is my fave movie, and WHMS and BTTF are up there in the top three with it. It would take hours to give you the full list of my favorites, however, because I am a bit of a film freak. Can ya tell? ;)

Also many mercis to RedLady (here's a hug right back:), Angel, Katie, Solaris, Nicole, Lizzy, Jaded Evie (thanks, your review made my day:), DancinEvy, Dylan, MBooker, Mija, Allibabab (I agree, Seti is a poo-head! If you think about it, at least in the universe of CG, all of this is his fault. Bad Seti, bad!:), Jessica, and Seletha, as well as anyone I missed and everyone who reads! :):):)

This is just one of those chapters I love because so much stuff happens. It's action-packed, I tell ya!;) And it's long, which I know y'all will like:)

Chapter 20

Leap of Faith

Nefertiri was silent as the meal started, mind moving much too quickly to pay attention to anything but the pair across the table from her. They never looked at each other, steering clear of the other's gaze almost _too_ carefully. If something was going on, they did an awfully good job of hiding it. Imhotep whispered something to Anck-su-namun as he handed her a plate. She laughed quietly, though still avoiding his eyes.

Nefertiri decided to see if she could get a reaction out of either of them. "Anck, it's so wonderful that you and Imhotep are so close," she said. 

It took a good amount of swallowing to keep Anck-su-namun from choking on her wine. Seti looked from his concubine to his advisor curiously, waiting for an answer. "I wasn't aware that you two knew each other that well," said the pharaoh.

"Yes, our dear high priest is a wonderful resource to have on palace grounds," said Anck. "Much like your own friendship with that Medjai, Nefertiri. Oh, what is his name?..."

As her father's eyes turned to her, Nefertiri was saved the opportunity to reply by the sudden presence of the very man in question. "Forgive me for being late," Achsu-rai apologized as he sat down. "I was delayed." 

"You missed the demonstration, Achsu-rai," Nefertiri said, tilting her head in a display of mock innocence. "Where have you been this afternoon?"

Achsu-rai shot her a look as if to say, "Not now," but Seti had picked up the thread of conversation and decided to make it his own. "Yes, Achsu-rai. My girls put on quite a show. It was very impressive."

"I'm sure Anck-su-namun fought splendidly," Achsu-rai said, looking pointedly at the princess. "Sorry to have missed it."

This time it was Nefertiri who nearly choked on her wine. So _that _was how he wanted to play! "Oh, I'm sure whatever you had to do was incredibly important. Protecting the country, and all that. Or perhaps you have a lover tucked away somewhere that we are unaware of?"

"How silly of you, Nefertiri," he responded. "How foolhardy I would have to be to--"

"Achsu-rai!" Imhotep snapped. Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "Would you be so kind as to pass me that bowl?"

Achsu-rai regarded the priest suspiciously for a moment before handing over the bowl in question. Imhotep had saved him from nearly saying something incredibly stupid to Nefertiri, he knew. And by the look he was giving him, he had done it deliberately. Was it possible that Imhotep knew about their affair? No. He couldn't know, how could he? It was impossible. 

"Let's lighten the mood, gentlemen," Anck-su-namun said suddenly. "Today is supposed to be a cheerful occasion, after all." 

As Anck's hand swept graciously over the table, it paused briefly at the edge of Seti's goblet. Her fingers twitched ever so slightly over the rim, and Nefertiri could have sworn she saw something float gently down into the depths of the plum-colored liquid... 

"More wine, dearest?" Anck-su-namun purred, pushing the glass toward the pharaoh. 

Before Seti could take it, however, and before Nefertiri had even time to think, the princess snatched the goblet out of her father's hand and quickly gulped down its contents. She set it down to reveal Seti looking very puzzled, and Anck-su-namun--

She looked panicked. Her eyes had widened, her mouth looked as though sound was supposed to be coming out, and her skin had gone pale. 

"Something wrong, Anck-su-namun?" Nefertiri asked, fighting to keep the fear from surfacing in her own countenance.

"Nefertiri," said the pharaoh, "whatever were you doing?"

"I was thirsty," she said sweetly, and was rewarded with a hearty laugh from her father. 

"More wine for my daughter," he said merrily, reaching for the cup once more. 

Nefertiri handed it to a passing servant before he could take it back. "Get us new glasses. This one is dirty," she commanded. She chanced another look at Anck-su-namun, who had by now worked her face into an expression of complete calm. _It was nothing_, Nefertiri told herself. _I was just imagining it. It was nothing..._

Achsu-rai tried to slip out as quietly as possible, but Nefertiri had been waiting for him to do so and pounced as soon as she saw him leave. She caught his arm as he stalked down the empty hallway. "Where were you?" she hissed. "Do you know how important today was?"

"Something came up with the elders, they wanted to see me."

"That's it? That's all you have to say?"

Achsu-rai closed his eyes. "Look, let's not talk about this right now, okay? I'm not in the mood for this. I'll come by tonight during the dinner banquet and you can yell at me all you want."

"I didn't mean--"

"No, it's my fault. I'm just busy, all right? I have to go. I'll see you tonight." 

He didn't look back at her as he pulled from her grasp and continued down the corridor. Nefertiri tried to be furious with him, but something in his tone of voice...

"Daughter," Seti said, startling Nefertiri away from thoughts of Achsu-rai. "Might I have a word with you?"

"Of course, father. Is something the matter?"

"No, no, I just..." Seti looked unusually pensive. "What you said at the table. About Anck-su-namun and..." He trailed off again but suddenly his jovial manner had returned. "Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about. Why don't you run along and I'll see you at dinner."

"Actually, I don't think I'll attend tonight, I am quite tired."

"Ah. Oh, well. Then you'd better go and rest, don't you think?"

"Yes, father."

Seti returned to the feast, leaving Nefertiri to herself and her increasingly tortuous thoughts. 

Nefertiri's hand shook slightly as she applied a bit more kohl to a smudged eyelid. This was ridiculous; she was fine. There was nothing to worry about. If she wasn't already dead, nothing was going to happen. Anck-su-namun was good, but she wasn't that good. Besides, the doctor had told her she was fine that afternoon when she had gone to him with fake symptoms, just to see what he would say. She couldn't let him get too close, however. After all, she didn't want anyone knowing she was pregnant...not yet.

She sighed, her hand brushing against her stomach as she set the eyeliner on the nightstand. A child...she kept forgetting. Did she even want it? But how could she not love something that was part of Achsu-rai?...How could _he_ not love something that was part of her? 

And what would they do, even so? It certainly would not do for the princess and the leader of the Medjai to have a child out of wedlock...not that they would have been allowed to marry in normal circumstances anyway...their affair would come to light...the pharaoh would be furious...Achsu-rai would lose his position in the tribe...maybe even his life...they could...they could run. Yes, they could run! Be happy, just the two of them (well, three)... Because she _was_ happy, when she wasn't thinking about what a horrible mess they'd gotten themselves into. The thought of having a family, of having one with Achsu-rai at that, of creating life... Yes, happy. They could be happy, together, away. 

No. She couldn't ask him to leave his tribe, his people. He had a duty. Thousands were far more important than two...more important than the love of his life, and their child... Nefertiri heard something break inside the drawer as she slammed it shut. 

Well, she'd find out tonight. She'd put it off long enough; she was going to tell him. He'd promised to come...again. Not showing up twice in a row would not be wise on Achsu-rai's part, Nefertiri decided. And after that little display at the meal today... She was going to make him beg for her forgiveness...if he had the decency to even put in an appearance. 

Personal grooming completed, Nefertiri wandered out into the fresh night air of the balcony. Trying to push thoughts of the future out of her mind was unsuccessful as she caught sight of a company of drilling Medjai further down the courtyard. Where could he _be_?...

Her attention was drawn from the Medjai, however, to the balcony across the way, for there stood Imhotep. He looked like he was waiting for someone. No one used those chambers, they were reserved for guests during festivals. Imhotep was supposed to be at the dinner banquet. But then again, so was Nefertiri.

The curtain opened and in walked Anck-su-namun, dressed as was befitting a harem girl, but one reserved only for the eyes of a pharaoh. This was obviously not what his mistress had in mind, however, for she quickly crossed the room and stopped in front of Imhotep. Anck-su-namun drew a tender hand across the priest's face, then he gathered her into a passionate kiss, oblivious to the intrusion of the spy across the way. 

Nefertiri quickly averted her eyes, mind racing. But she'd known all along, hadn't she? Why was she so shocked to see it happen in front of her? Her eyes were pulled back to the pair, who broke apart guiltily as the voice of the pharaoh drifted through the gauzy curtains to their ears. Perhaps he'd taken Nefertiri's hinting more seriously than she'd thought...

_Thank the gods! _thought the princess. _Now my father will see that traitor for what she really is_...but somewhere in the back of her mind, a nagging doubt intruded...what right did she keep a secret lover if she condemned others who were only doing the same? Everything she'd seen, everything the priest had told her, it all made sense now, and as the pieces clicked into place Nefertiri wished desperately that she could scatter the sickening knowledge to the wind. 

Nefertiri was not given much time to muse, however, for by now Imhotep had fled and Seti had entered. She could not hear what he said to Anck-su-namun, but could only watch in horrified realization as Imhotep reappeared behind Seti and drew the pharaoh's own weapon from its scabbard. 

"Medjai!" Nefertiri cried to the courtyard below. "My father needs you!" 

A stream of them began a dash up the stairs, but it was too late. Anck-su-namun had drawn a dagger and plunged it into Seti's back, sealing the fate of eight souls in a single instant. Imhotep, a look of supreme satisfaction on his face, slashed at the pharaoh from the other side, and Nefertiri could no longer hold back. She might have screamed, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that suddenly she was falling, grasping at nothing but air as the ground rushed up to meet her...

~*~*~*~

He he. I haven't had a really good cliffhanger in a long time ;)


	21. The Prodigal Son

Thanks to... Kleopatra_gurl (merci much for reading LLD, and about Confession, I am v. v. sorry. Writer's block has decided to take up residency in that particular story, but have no fear, another chapter will come eventually:), DancinEvy (don't freak out, we've still got eight chapters left in which...no, wait, that would be giving things away;), katie, Princess of the Darkness, Jennie (the frame of this story is technically post-TMR, but an actual post-TMR story/sequel to this one may come eventually), BabyD, chica_bo_bica, Al (your imagination at work on the cliffhanger was awesome!:), RedLady, Solaris, pokey, Alicia, Dylan (actually I've written all but the final chapter...heh heh heh, the suspense;), MBooker, sare, jynkang, Lula, Tigerwolf, Seletha, and anyone I missed:):):)

Chapter 21

The Prodigal Son

With a jolt Nefertiri was brought back to reality. A moment of disorientation... Then she could feel a hand wrapped around her ankle, suspending her in the air as she struggled against the shock of hanging in nothingness. Another hand grasped her leg, yanking hard as Nefertiri felt herself be pulled up and over the ledge in what seemed like an eternity of single moments, all strung clumsily together in the chaotic tapestry of life. 

Once placed on solid ground, she crumpled. Her savior collapsed beside her on the balcony, clutching her tightly as Nefertiri's mind slowly began to process what she had seen. From her throat came strangled sobs, muffled by her proximity to her rescuer, who did not seem to want to let her go. She beat against his chest in an effort to free herself, but Achsu-rai only gripped her tighter. 

"It's okay," came the whisper. "It's okay, I've got you, you're going to be okay, I've got you, it's okay, everything's going to be okay..."

Nefertiri stopped struggling in his arms and simply let the sobs wrack her body. Hours seemed to pass before she realized who it was that held her, and she finally quieted. Achsu-rai's voice was muffled, far away, but she clung to it across the expanse of grief that threatened to pull her down into its abyss. All she had left...he was all she had left...

Achsu-rai's mind raced as he held the princess, not only unwilling, but unable, to let her go, for fear that he would lose her to the night. Reminding himself to begin breathing again, he gently unwrapped her arms from his neck and scooped her limp body from the cold ground. 

Tahir rushed in just as Achsu-rai stepped in from the balcony. "What's happened? I heard screaming..."

"The pharaoh has been murdered." Achsu-rai gently tucked the princess into the safety of her bed. "Nefertiri almost went with him."

"Is she all right?"

"I don't know," Achsu-rai confessed. "Nefertiri? Nefertiri, can you hear me?"

No answer came from the princess, who for all intents and purposes seemed gone to the world. She was so still that Achsu-rai checked again to make sure she was breathing. "I have to go," he said. "I have to go but I'll be back, I promise, okay?" 

Nefertiri clutched at Achsu-rai as he stood. "No..." she whispered, then let go of him and sunk back into her pillow, sobbing quietly. 

"Take care of her, Tahir."

"Of course."

With one last anguished look at his love as she wept, Achsu-rai hurried away, anger building. He had to find Imhotep, make him pay for what he had just done. Nefertiri had almost died... 

Achsu-rai realized with a start that he had given no thought to the death of the pharaoh. He was not furious with Imhotep for murdering the man Achsu-rai had sworn his life to protect, but for putting Nefertiri in danger. Had his priorities slipped so far?...

In the same moment, however, Achsu-rai realized that Nefertiri _was_ his priority, and always would be. No one else mattered, not even the pharaoh...

Nefertiri knew she was a sight. The little makeup the servants had managed to force upon her was smudged beyond repair, and her wig was not in the best state. She didn't try to hide the tears, to cover them up. It would have been useless, for they would have been replaced within moments by a fresh batch. All she wanted to do was curl into a ball in some remote corner and fade away. The next best thing would have been Achsu-rai's arms, but she had seen little enough of him since that night on the balcony. Tahir had told her that Achsu-rai was busy trying to track down Imhotep, and she believed him, but that didn't stop her from wishing he could be with her instead. She needed him with her, and he wasn't there. It was as simple as that. 

Ramses' presence would do her good, Nefertiri had decided. She hadn't seen her brother in months, and was looking forward to having him around again. Not that he'd have much time for her, either, what with all of his responsibilities...was she not important enough for _anyone_ to make time for anymore? 

Nefertiri allowed herself a small smile, her first in days, as she thought of the one person would love her always, no matter what. Her child. She had to admit that the idea appealed to her, being a mother, having another little life to care for, to love...

Love. All it had brought her was misery. It had brought them all down, Imhotep, Anck-su-namun, Seti...

No. She, Achsu-rai, they were different. It was not going to end like that, not for them. It couldn't. They would survive, they would live....they would love. 

Even if it did take more than one lifetime. 

It had taken only days for Ramses to travel back to Thebes. He was greeted with the requisite joy befitting the return of a prince, though the celebration was shrouded in the vestiges of intense grief. His coronation ceremony was brief and low key, the usual fanfare packed away owing to the violence with which his father had died. This sort of thing was likely to throw the country into an uproar, and Ramses wanted to make the transition as smoothly as possible. Nefertiri suspected, however, that her brother was indeed disappointed with the lack of festivity, as he had never been one for modesty in any arena. 

It was not long after the ceremony that Ramses seemed to notice that Nefertiri was standing by herself in the corner, alone with only her depression for company. "Sister," he greeted her, voice dripping with pity as if he could tell by looking at her how far gone she was. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here." 

Nefertiri forced a smile as her brother hugged her. "There wasn't anything you could have done."

"Still, I...I should have been here." Ramses released his sister and took a glass of wine from the tray of a passing servant. "I promise you, Imhotep will pay."

"That is not what I worry about, Ramses."

Ramses sensitivity seemed not to run as deep as Nefertiri had hoped. He had never been one for subtle hints, either. "How are you holding up?" he asked, sipping his beverage and glancing about the room. 

"As well as can be expected. A lot of things have happened since you've been away, Ramses, and I--"

"Just a moment," Ramses interrupted, and beckoned to a man a little ways away. "I'd like you to meet my general." 

Tall, broad shouldered and imposing, the man coming toward them might have been handsome if not for the smile. It stretched across his face in two perfect rows of frighteningly white teeth, set in a permanent sneer as if the entire world amused him. He bowed his head as he neared the pair, though his eyes remained fixed on the princess. "Nefertiri," said Ramses, "you remember our cousin Hadamer."

Nefertiri took an imperceptible step backward, eyeing Hadamer with caution. "Yes, of course. When I was six, you locked me in a kitchen cupboard and I was trapped there for three hours."

Hadamer laughed, a guffaw that reverberated around the room and complimented his revolting smile. "Ah, yes, Nefertiri, I remember that as well. I do not, however, remember you being quite so beautiful." He made a move to take her hand to kiss it, but she shied away before he could even come close. 

"Other men have noticed this before, sir, do not think yourself original."

"No men better than I, Nefertiri."

Nefertiri took another step closer to Ramses, trying to get as far away from Hadamer's leering grin as possible. "I speak from experience when I say you are most certainly wrong."

"Is there another man I must steal you away from, then?" Both Ramses and Hadamer laughed then, as if this was the most ridiculous thing they'd ever heard.

"I assure you," said Ramses, still chuckling, "my little sister is ill-advised in such matters. I think you would be good for her, Hadamer."

"Then I shall do my best to triumph over this 'other man,' Nefertiri," smirked Hadamer. 

"A most difficult task that would be, I assure you."

The smile faltered, just for a moment, but then was back. "Might I meet this mysterious suitor, then?"

Nefertiri had no legitimate answer to this, and this caused the two men to burst into another fit of laughter. "If only you knew," she whispered, and slipped quietly into the crowd as the men continued to laugh at their own cleverness. 

~*~*~*~

Don't give me crap about Amenhotep and historical accuracy, please. Stephen Sommers can mess with the facts (and boy, did he), so can I:)~ It's more fun that way, anyway:)


	22. Lie to Me

Too tired for an author's note. Enjoy 22. :)

Chapter 22

Lie to Me

Nefertiri saw the letter as soon as she opened her eyes. It lay on the pillow next to her, folded into a little square. She knew immediately who had written it, though Tahir had probably been the one to deliver it. 

__

My phoenix:

I know things haven't been easy these past weeks. It is no excuse to say I have been busy. I can't stand to be away from you, but circumstances do not always give us what we want. We cannot change the past, however, we can only hope for the future. 

I won't lie to you. I don't know what to do, and I'm scared. I am so used to consequences being lain out in black and white, so used to my duty to my people, to your father, guiding me, that I wonder if I have forgotten how to make my own decisions. I have always obeyed the rules, and when we broke them, all of my silly ideas about the order of the world were thrown out the window. I would not take them back, not for anything, if it meant giving up you. 

What the future holds has yet to be revealed, but I cannot see an easy solution to all of this. Even without the knowledge you sought from the oracle, it is obvious that our life has become so muddled we may never untangle it again. But I will not let anything happen to you. I hope you trust me enough to believe in that. I told you once we just have to believe, and everything would turn out all right. While I am no longer so sure of myself, I am sure of one thing. Love may not be the answer to all things, but it is what makes life worth living. I want you to remember that, always. I know I will.

Your prince. 

Even without the unbalanced hormones of her pregnancy upsetting her emotions, Nefertiri could not help but break into tears by the time she'd finished reading the letter. All the rage, all the fear she'd felt over the past week, it was all eased as she studied the single sheet of paper. Morning stretched into afternoon as Nefertiri read the letter over and over again as if it could substitute for Achsu-rai's presence somehow. Tahir was in and out, bringing her tea, and food that she wouldn't eat. The hours did not matter to her, her world having become so confused that she no longer registered anything but the rising and setting of the sun. 

Achsu-rai entered without a sound, and her sudden realization of his presence made her jump. "I only have a few minutes before they notice I'm gone," he said. "I just...I had to see you."

Nefertiri nodded. "I got your letter."

"Good."

Their usually easy conversation seemed impeded by an invisible force, both of them uncomfortable in the silence as it stretched longer and longer between them. Nefertiri decided to say something, anything, just to hear his voice again, though she averted her eyes. "I feel like you've been distancing yourself from me lately."

"I didn't mean to. Things have just been..."

"Busy," she finished, looking up.

"Horrible. I hate not seeing you."

"It's okay. I understand."

It didn't matter how mad she was, she simply needed to be near him. As she stood he drew her into a hug, reminding her with a twinge of the night he'd caught her and refused to let her go. 

"It feels good just to be in your arms," she told him, shaking off the memories. "I asked after you often, but they always told me you were busy."

"I'm sorry. We have to find him."

"I know. I just...I miss you."

"I miss you, too. It's been days since I've heard your voice."

"And what a magnificent voice it is."

"It is magnificent. And sweet." He kissed her timidly, waiting for a reaction. "And brilliant." She didn't protest, so he kissed her again, lightly. "And sexy." Another kiss. "And absolutely the most beautiful thing I have ever heard."

"Hmm. I think that almost counts as an apology."

"I'd better finish it out then, don't you think?" He gave her no chance to reply as he kissed her again, this time with the abandon of one who has been away for far too long. 

When he broke the kiss, the silence that followed was much more welcome than the first, both of them simply enjoying the other's presence. "I rather think saving my life was enough of an apology anyway," said Nefertiri after a while. "I never thanked you."

"You don't need to."

"Right. It was your job."

"No," he corrected her. "It was my life. _You_ are my life."

Nefertiri didn't hesitate, needing an answer as she needed air to breathe. "Would you leave with me?" she asked. "If I ever asked you to...would you? For me?"

He contemplated her for a moment before answering. "If I said yes, I would betray my people. If I said no, I would betray you. I can do neither."

"You're going to have to choose one, sooner or later. You know that, don't you? You _know_ this isn't going to work." 

"Don't say that--"

"I _will_ say it, because it's the truth!" Her imagination, left to brood for so long alone, burst forth into the daylight, thoughts of a happier outcome quickly vanishing in the face of reality. "You'll have to get married sooner or later, you need an heir. Ramses won't let me marry you, he would laugh at the mere suggestion! Imagine, the heir to the leadership of the Medjai, with royal blood! We can't have that, can we? We can't have two people marrying just because they're in love, whoever heard of such a thing!"

"Nefertiri, we can't just run from our problems."

"Stop telling me what to do!"

"I'm not going to--"

"You have no right to tell me what to do! I never even see you anymore, and now you presume to tell me that what I feel is wrong? Is our love wrong, Achsu-rai? Was this a mistake? Do you regret this?... Answer me. Do you regret this? Do you regret me?"

"No," he said, shoulders dropping, brave countenance finally collapsing under the weight of their secret. "I don't understand how the gods could show me someone so amazing and then threaten to take her away. I won't let them, I can't. I can't lose you Nefertiri, I couldn't bear it."

She'd become to used to crying in the past weeks that she didn't bother to fight the tears anymore. He hugged her again, drawing her close so as to reassure himself as well as her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he repeated, "I'm sorry. Don't worry, okay? We'll always be together, they can't take this away from us. I'll always be here to protect you. Always."

Ramses jumped a bit when Hadamer stalked into the room, and valiantly attempted to cover the fact by standing quickly. _Your nerves are just raw_, he told himself. _You've been under a lot of stress lately..._

Fortunately for Ramses, Hadamer was just as self-centered as the pharaoh, and gave no indication that he'd noticed Ramses' flinching. "You lied," Hadamer hissed. "You told me it was pure nonsense."

Ramses raised his eyebrows, attempting to discern exactly what his friend was so upset over. "What are you talking about?"

"Nefertiri and her mysterious suitor. She was telling the truth."

"What? How do you know?"

Hadamer thrust a crumpled piece of paper into Ramses' hands. "I found this in Nefertiri's room. It would seem, pharaoh, that there _is_ 'another man.' And from the looks of this letter...he's a Medjai."

~*~*~*~


	23. I'll Be Seeing You Again

This is a chapter I've had trouble with for a long time. Hope it was worth the effort:) Thanks so much to everyone, I luv you all, and I am so grateful!!!:):):) ~Buff

Chapter 23

"I'll Be Seeing You Again"

"Achsu-rai!" came the yell, almost from the other side of the camp. From the man's tone of voice he could tell it was urgent. Something that couldn't wait. What could be so important that it couldn't wait until...

Imhotep. It had to be about Imhotep.

A Medjai skidded to a halt in front of Achsu-rai and doubled over. Sweat gleamed on his dark Nubian skin in the hot afternoon sun; he'd obviously run from a great distance. "Achsu-rai," he said, "we--it's--"  
"Et-nan, what is it? Speak, man!"

The young Medjai still struggled to catch his breath but finally answered his leader. "We--we found him. Imhotep, we found him."

"What? Where is he?"

"They've killed the embalmers, he took her body."

"Whose body?"

"Anck-su-namun. He stole her corpse."

"What does he plan to do with it?"

"Achsu-rai, we think he's--we think he's headed toward Hamunaptra."

"Why Hamunaptra?" Then it hit him. "Oh, by the gods....the Book of the Dead."

Khalil had volunteered immediately as soon as he'd heard. Achsu-rai had expected nothing less, of course, but was nonetheless impressed with his eagerness. He'd been quite helpful in drawing together the chariots they required for the journey to Hamunaptra, knowing they could afford to waste no time. 

As the Medjai assembled, Khalil called Achsu-rai over. "Something wrong?" the latter asked his brother. 

"Achsu-rai...What are we going to do to him?"

"Ramses has ordered the Hom Dai."

Achsu-rai saw fear in Khalil's eyes, and he could not help but feel the same. "What is he going to do?" asked Khalil. "With the book?"

"We believe he will attempt to raise Anck-su-namun from the dead."

"And that is why he must be cursed."

"It is a mortal sin. The gods will not be pleased."

"But..." Khalil shook his head. "Never mind."

"What?"

"It's just...He is only a man in love. Why should we fault him for that?"

Struck by the simplicity of his words, Achsu-rai had nothing to say to this. He saw something new in his brother's face. The anxiety was still there. He was still a child, no doubt about that. But something else...Wisdom, maybe, or its beginning at least. "Let us not forget," Achsu-rai finally replied, "that he also murdered our Pharaoh. For that there can be no redemption."

"Of course." Khalil nodded and jumped into the chariot. Achsu-rai joined him on the seat and tried to set his thoughts to the task ahead. A most difficult task it would be, indeed. 

They were keeping him in a little room off the preparation chamber, where he could hear the screams. Achsu-rai wondered as he entered whose brilliant idea that had been. Not that he didn't deserve every discourtesy, but still...

"News from the front, Medjai?" growled Imhotep. "Has the pharaoh decided my fate? I am to die, am I not?"

"Ramses has ordered the Hom Dai," said Achsu-rai. Too disgusted with the man to look at him, Achsu-rai nonetheless heard Imhotep's sharp intake of breath as he heard the news. No, a man no longer. A monster. 

Then, out of the corner of his vision, Achsu-rai caught...

Imhotep's eyes. Terrified. Pleading. The arrogance, the confidence, of the high priest was gone, replaced by raw human terror. Looking at him Achsu-rai felt the terror seep into his own veins, felt the unwelcome emotion of pity creep in. _No_, he thought, shaking it off once and for all. He would not allow himself to feel pity for the priest, never. _There is no excuse for what he did. Even if he did it for love. No. Imhotep has no right to call it love, not when the price he exchanged it for was the life of an innocent man...a pharaoh..._

Achsu-rai couldn't fight the other emotion that was rising in him, however...terror, blinding terror, to equal Imhotep's... He couldn't help but wonder if Imhotep had traded his shot at happiness not only for the lives of himself, the pharaoh, and their lover....but for all of them. Were they already trapped in the cycle of destruction? Helpless to the coming apocalypse? 

"Something wrong, Medjai?" asked Imhotep, and the none-too-welcome condescension had returned. "You look conflicted. Second thoughts?"

"I do not pretend to be sorry for your life. That you deserve to lose. But your soul...I would beg for it if I could."

"I do not need the help of a Medjai to beg for my soul. I can do that myself."

"I fear it will do no good. For that I am truly sorry." 

"And I feel sorry for you, too, Medjai. You and that princess of yours. I wonder what other tragedies lie in store for you."

"And you, a condemned man, think you know more than we do?"

Imhotep smiled. "I know more than you could hope to. I see what my future holds; yours is not so clear."

"A punishment of hellish eternal torment will do that for a man."

"Eternal?" Imhotep laughed. "There is no such thing. We can only hope we are granted a moment in this world. Not even an eternity is enough time. Death is only the beginning, though, is it not? You told me that, Medjai. I wonder if you knew how right you were."

A Medjai peeked through the doorway. "Achsu-rai?" he said. "They're ready."

"Thank you, Et-nan." Achsu-rai turned back to Imhotep. "Any last words?"

Imhotep smiled. "We will meet again, Medjai. We will speak then, I am sure."

Achsu-rai looked him in the eye, and in that moment banished any pity he had ever felt for the man. "If we meet again," said Achsu-rai, "I will kill you." 

Imhotep tipped his head in mock concurrence to the Medjai's statement, that terrible smile still affixed to his face. The guards surrounded Imhotep and dragged him to his feet, and so it began. 

They returned home as the day broke. Some hearts were heavy with guilt, doubt; others dismissed the act as duty, as cause and consequence. One, however, had even more on his mind. A man's dying words, a prophecy coming to pass before his eyes, the weight of a terrible mistake bearing down on his future. On all their futures. 

~*~*~*~

Reviews are like chocolate for the soul...mmm, chocolate:)~


	24. Something Blue

Thanks to my reviewers...kleopatra_gurl, sare, mythica (you're just too funny:), evelync.o, first crush, dancinevy, seletha, redlady, naca (formerly katg:), angel ruse, lula, asilin (i wish i could turn reviews into chocolate for real, but for now making cookies works, too:), dylan, katie, jynkang (yes, despondent, but don't worry, it'll be okay:), allibabab (loooove your reviews, you're such a darling!:), marxbros (v. v. impressed that you read it all in one day, thanx!!!:)

Six chapters to go, we're getting down to the wire. No more dilly-dallying; these last ones are action-packed;) Also, check out my new story **Crisis**, currently up to chapter two. 

Chapter 24

Something Blue

Two large men carrying quite a few weapons shoved Tahir to the floor as soon as they'd reached the throne. Ramses stood and gave Tahir a slight kick before commanding him to rise.

"Yes, majesty," Tahir mumbled, standing on shaky feet. 

"Who is he?" asked the pharaoh. 

Tahir fidgeted, attempting to figure out the best course of action. "Uh...Majesty, I don't know what you mean."

"You know _exactly_ what I mean, old man. Now answer me!"

Tahir began to tremble as he noted Ramses' hand, which rested on the handle of the scimitar at his side, twitching. "Perhaps if his majesty was a little more specific..."

"Specific? All right. _Who_ was the man that wrote this letter?"

"What letter?"

Ramses thrust the crumpled piece of paper in Tahir's face. "_This_ letter. Addressed to my sister, from a Medjai. Have you seen any of them hanging around?"

"Uh, the princess is usually accompanied by a servant, I--"

"No, he is a Medjai! Who is he?"

"I know of no specific Medjai assigned to guard the princess, but I know they do look out for her."

Ramses' eyes narrowed, giving his long face an even more wasted appearance. "You try my patience."

"I cannot tell you anything if there is nothing to tell, highness."

By now Ramses had unsheathed the scimitar, and it danced irritably in his fingers. "Admirable qualities in a servant, I admit. Loyalty, courage, quick thinking. Are you willing to die for those qualities, then?"

Tahir drew himself taller, face grim. "Anyone that knows the princess could not help but be willing to die for her. I will not betray her trust."

Ramses gave no warning when he struck. He simply lashed out, cutting Tahir across the chest, before replacing the blade in its scabbard and stalking away from the crumpled form of the old man. 

Achsu-rai kept his eyes on the floor as he wandered, not noticing where he was going, who he passed. He was so lost in thought he did not see the woman, standing stock still just inside the temple doors, until he'd run into her. Finally looking up as he apologized, he saw it was Nefertiri. "What are you doing here?" he asked. 

"I come every day, to check on the Bracelet."

"Oh. That's good."

Nefertiri's eyes returned heavenward. "I've never noticed this wall before, have you?"

Achsu-rai followed her line of sight to the cartouche that adorned the wall above them. To his surprise, it was a familiar inscription. "No. I don't come here often."

"It's the same as your tattoo. On your wrist."

"Yes."

"What does it mean?"

"It's just a coat of arms, I told you that."

"But that's just the eye and the two kings. You said everyone has something slightly different."

"So?"

"So this one is just like yours. It has the pyramid."

"When a Medjai reaches manhood, he is given a special mark. A unique symbol, usually part of a family crest. It is said to foretell our destiny."

"And what is your destiny, Achsu-rai?"

"A man can only know that when he is confronted with it."

"Let me know when you find out, all right?"

Achsu-rai smiled. "Certainly, Nefertiri. I'm sure you'll have something to do with it."

Nefertiri would have returned the smile, indeed she might have done more than that, if Ramses had not entered the temple and nearly run into the both of them. "I apologize, sister. Achsu-rai. Was I interrupting something?" said the pharaoh. 

"We were discussing this symbol, Ramses, have you ever seen it before?" 

Ramses barely glanced at the wall. "No. I assume you are just back from Hamunaptra. Is it finished?"

"Yes, majesty."

"Good. Thank the gods that is finally over and done with. Now leave us, Achsu-rai, I have things to discuss with my sister."

"Certainly." Achsu-rai threw one last look to the cartouche on the wall, then exited the temple. 

"Achsu-rai is a fine young man," said Ramses. "He will do well."

"Absolutely."

The pharaoh's mouth tightened and he narrowed his eyes before continuing, as if he watched Nefertiri's every move. "I have been told that he is to be married soon," he said. 

Nefertiri felt as though she'd been socked in the stomach, the sudden lack of air delaying her response for a few seconds. "Who told you that?"

Ramses shrugged. "I don't remember. Why does it matter?"

"Well it's just...I thought I would have heard if something like that were to take place."

"Well, enough gossip, sister, I'm sure you aren't interested in such trivial goings-on. Or...are you?"

Nefertiri laughed, trying to recall the guise of the innocuous princess her brother no doubt remembered. He would not like the idea that she was no longer so naive. "Of course not. Why would I be?" 

"Well, I had heard that you were rather close to some of the Medjai. Is that true?"

Nefertiri took a slow breath, formulating her answer. "They are most kind to me, though I cannot say I know any of them particularly well."

"It's just that I came across a rather interesting letter the other day."

It was lucky that Nefertiri had become used to lying these past months, or she was sure the panic would have shown on her face. "Have you?" she replied, frantically trying to recall what she had done with Achsu-rai's letter. 

"I know."

She looked him straight in the eye, and was almost terrified at what she saw there. Nefertiri steeled herself and tried to sound calm. "Know what?"

"Don't act so innocent, Nefertiri," Ramses spat. "You know exactly what, and _who_ I am talking about."

"Why don't you just say it, then?"

"Who is he?"

"I thought you said you knew."

"Do not use that tone with me," he said, rage creeping into the edge of his voice. "You may be my sister, but I will no longer allow you to act like an insolent child. It is time to grow up."

"A lot has happened since you've been gone, Ramses. You are right. I am not a child, and I will not take orders from you."

"You _will_ take orders from me, and you will obey them as well. That has not changed, and will never change."

"But so _much_ has changed, Ramses, you have no idea. I have seen my father murdered; I have fallen in love. If only you knew everything that has happened since you have been gone, you would not be so sure of yourself."

A self-satisfied smile crept onto Ramses' face, as if he knew his power and that her words, in the end, were only words. It unsettled her; he was certainly up to something. "Do you like Hadamer?"

"Not at all. I despise him, if you want to know the truth."

"I don't, no, not really."

"Then why do you ask?"

"I have to go down to Abydos in three days to oversee the progress on father's temple. So before I leave, Nefertiri, we are going to hold a great feast."

"And what has that to do with Hadamer?"

"Everything. Because in two days time, my dear sister...you will marry him." 

~*~*~*~

Ah oh. Time is counting down for our dear Nef. We all know what the summary says...heh heh heh, I'm such a tease. Sorry, I can't help myself :)


	25. Contract Terminated

So here's my excuse. It's a _great_ excuse, I promise. I had an epiphany and realized the last chapters needed rewriting. Like, it needed another elaborate death scene, some fighting, a more emotional, angst-filled finale, a defining moment between old friends, and a whole new twist to lead to a sequel (heh heh:). And I'm still not even done. If I had the energy I'd even rewrite the _first_ few chapters, but we won't get into _that _now:) But some of the chapters are longer, and I think I _might_ even _add _one. So now it'll be a lot better than it would have been, which means y'all can enjoy it that much more:) Thanks for your patience, and I hope it was worth the wait. Special kudos to Mythica for helping me straighten this chapter out. :) ~Buff

Chapter 25

"Contract Terminated"

Achsu-rai walked slowly as he made his way back in the general direction of the Medjai camp. The sun had not yet set, but the hallways of the palace were awash in the golden glow of the early twilight. He had time yet, before he had to be anywhere. Maybe Nefertiri would catch up with him, if she could get away from Ramses. He missed just being able to talk with her like they had before, without having to worry about being discovered. She'd always known exactly what to say, and he needed something to calm his conscience. 

"Achsu-rai!" he heard from behind him. "Achsu-rai, wait!"

As soon as Nefertiri drew level with him she flew into his arms. He simply held her, knowing she needed the silence as much as she needed words. "Are you okay?" he asked after a few moments. 

"So you did it," she said, her words muffled. 

"What?"

"The Hom Dai. Imhotep has been cursed."

Achsu-rai pulled back from the embrace and studied Nefertiri for a long while before answering. "Yes."

Nefertiri suddenly wouldn't meet his eyes. She seemed to be focusing instead on the wall just beyond his head, studying the illustrations there as if they were terribly important. "I hear you are to be married."

This being the very last thing Achsu-rai expected her to say, he was quick to deny it. "No. Who told you that?"

She let out a deep, shuddering breath, realizing a bit more the depth of her brother's treachery. "Ramses."

"Then he was mistaken, I have heard nothing of the sort. I think I would know."

Nefertiri glanced back down the hallway. "I think Ramses knows. About us."

"What?" Achsu-rai took her hand and pulled her into a empty room down the hallway, shutting the door tight against intruders. "Why do you say that?"

"He found the letter you wrote me. He was asking me questions about the Medjai."

"He must have been bluffing, or he would have confronted me."

Nefertiri turned away so he wouldn't see the tears that had begun to sting her eyes. "Maybe."

"Is something else wrong, Nefertiri?"

"Wrong?" She turned back to him, wiping a tear from her eye before she did so. "Besides the fact that I am to married to Hadamer in two days? Or did you mean the splitting headache I seem to have developed recently?"

He'd heard her wrong. That horrible, icy feeling in his stomach was doing cartwheels, and he had to fight to speak. He'd heard her wrong. He had to have heard her wrong. "You are to be..."

"Married, Achsu-rai."

"I...I don't know what to..." 

"Oh, just believe. That's all we have to do, believe, is it not?" Her sarcasm was met with a blank face, and Nefertiri felt panic spreading throughout her again. Her fate was in his hands and he wouldn't even look at her. "Would you just _say _something?" she said, softer. "Please, talk to me."

He found his voice, finally, though it came out a bit sharper than he had intended. "What do you want me to do, Nefertiri?"

She threw up her hands. "It doesn't matter what I want, apparently. No one asked me what I wanted when they planned my life. What I want, Achsu-rai, is something I can never have. I want to be with you, I want to run away from all of this and have a family with the man I love and be _happy_. But I cannot ask you to leave your people, and I know that you wouldn't. I can do nothing anymore but what they tell me to. So go ahead, give me an order. Tell me how to run my life, tell me my fate. Everyone else does, why not you, too?"

"I can't just up and leave, you know that."

Nefertiri took a deep breath, and the tears she had fought throughout her speech began to spill over. "There's something else."

Achsu-rai felt his anger ebb just slightly as he looked into her eyes, recognized the look there. "Nefertiri?" he asked, taking her hands. "What is it?"

She moved closer to him, instinct telling her what her heart refused to believe. "I've been trying to tell you for ages, I've just been so afraid of what you might say."

"Tell me."

"I've known for a few weeks now. The oracle told me; I really should have known..."

"More predictions from the oracle? Nefertiri, she cannot--"

"No, it is a fact... Achsu-rai... I'm pregnant. I'm going to have a child."

"Oh, Nefertiri." He took her face in his hands, wiped away an errant tear with his thumb. How could fate be so twisted as to taunt them like this? They had been given everything, and now those around them threatened not only their happiness, but their very lives. A child! Imagine what they could have together, a family, a life... But he knew it wouldn't happen. Somehow, deep within himself, he knew it wasn't to be. The happiness of mortals was not something the gods concerned themselves with. 

Her voice, tiny, timid, broke through his thoughts. "Are you angry?"

He shook his head, needing her to understand how he felt but somewhat unsure himself. "No. No. In different circumstances I would be overjoyed."

"But in these circumstances?"

"I wish more than ever we were normal. I wish we weren't who we are."

"What if...what if we just told Ramses? About us? Maybe he'll understand, maybe--"

"He's already shown that he won't."

"What did you expect?" Nefertiri pulled out of his arms. "How did you think this would end? Did you think you would just get tired of me? Or that we would continue live out our other lives in daylight and keep our love a secret forever?"

"Not forever."

"Then what? What do we do, Achsu-rai? I need your help. Tell me what to do, I beg of you."

"I thought you didn't want people dictating your life."

"I don't want strangers telling me to marry a man I despise. I want you to tell me that we're going to leave this godforsaken prison and start over somewhere else, a place where they won't judge us just for being in love. Tell me, Achsu-rai. Tell me, or come up with some other brilliant idea to get us out of this. That, or turn around, and walk away. Leave with me, or without me. Tell me."

Achsu-rai closed his eyes, mentally calculating the odds for such an impossible escape. They could round up enough wealth to get them out of Thebes, at least. She could hide at one of the Medjai settlements for a while. Enough time to make Khalil grow up, to get the elders used to the idea of the young man leading the twelve tribes. Time to slowly detach from them all...leaving his people, already in turmoil, in the hands of an inexperienced leader. How could he turn his back on his people, on his duty, even for...love? Imhotep had not been able to accomplish the feat, what made Achsu-rai think he could? Achsu-rai knew well enough that neither he or Nefertiri could live that way...

...Together. But...apart.... 

"It isn't that simple," he said, "and you know it."

"What, then, I'm just going to marry Hadamer?"

"No!" Even though Achsu-rai was trying to be logical about the situation, that was one scenario he would _not_ explore. "No."

"Oh, I see. Even if I can't share your bed you don't want me sharing anyone else's."

"All right." Achsu-rai felt his anger bubbling over, trying to break free from its thin facade but still held in place by months of practice. "Maybe that's true. And what's wrong with feeling that way? I don't want you, my lover, my soul mate, the mother of my child, sleeping with another man. I don't know how the priest was able to stand it; I certainly could not, and don't intend to."

Her eyes had welled up again, and she reached for him but he did not react. "I'm sorry. I won't marry him; I won't marry anyone but you."

"You don't have to marry Hadamer. Don't worry."

"But...what about you?"

He drew in a breath, wondering how if he'd have the strength to do what he intended. He had to. "I can't leave. But...you can."

Her brow creased in confusion. He wasn't saying... "What?"

"I can get you out of here. I can get you away."

The pieces were beginning to click, but still she refused to give them refuge. "But what about you? I'm not leaving without you."

"Maybe, maybe someday, but I can't...Khalil isn't ready. I can't leave my people, they depend on me."

"But--"

"No buts, Nefertiri. This is the way it has to be. I have to protect you, I have to get you out of here."

Her eyes flashed at the command, but she did not object in the way he expected her to. "My life is worth is worth nothing if it means forfeiting yours."

He swallowed, trying to get past the dread that was rising in his throat. "Don't talk like that. Nothing is going to happen to me. I'm going to protect you, okay? You have to think of the safety of our child. Nefertiri? Answer me! Okay?"

It took her a few moments to reply, and even then she wouldn't look at him anymore. "Okay."

"Look, we have to make them believe everything is fine. Tell them you'll marry Hadamer in two days and you couldn't be happier with your brother's decision."

"I don't know if I can--"

"You have to tell them, Nefertiri, they'll think something's wrong."

"No, that's not it." Her eyes met his again, and that split-second of doubt again chilled his veins. When she looked at him like that, how could he think he could live without her? 

"I...I don't know..." Nefertiri continued, "...if I can live without you."

He took a minute to answer, knowing that if he didn't clear his head, his plan would never work. "It's our only choice."

"A choice? We have a choice? No one ever told me that. Seven souls struck down by fate. One survivor, to tell the tale. I almost hope the oracle was right."

"I will not allow anything to happen to you, princess." 

It hit him too late what he'd said, too late to regret it. Nefertiri looked as though she'd been slapped in the face. "Princess? You haven't..."

It was better this way, it was. He just had to get her away. They needed distance. A quick, clean break from the happiest days he'd ever known, for her sake. Her life, their child's life, depended on getting out of this cursed place. He'd get them away from this prison. The words of the oracle pounding in his head, he said, "That is your title, is it not?"

Nefertiri drew herself tall, willing her tears to dry. "All right then." She backed away from him, though everything in her screamed not to. She spoke again, though the words seemed dulled in her ears. "Goodbye...Medjai."

"I'll come for you tomorrow."

Nefertiri turned and walked away from him while she still had the will to. One foot in front of the other, step by step, inch by inch. She couldn't have him in her sight a moment longer. If she'd turned around, she was afraid she'd be tempted to throw herself at his feet, begging forgiveness for invisible crimes. But the princess wouldn't do that. She wouldn't allow herself to. 

If she'd turned back, if she'd seen him, she would have known he was thinking the same thing. She would have seen a tear in his own eye, she would have seen his lips form words, though she couldn't have heard them...

"I love you, Nefertiri."

As Nefertiri threw back the door to the throne room it clanged noisily on the wall, drawing the attention of every eye in the room. She ignored the stares and walked straight to the head of the room where Ramses sat on his throne, conversing in hushed tones with Hadamer. When Hadamer saw the princess he straightened up, and with dread she noted something like hatred glimmering in his eye. 

As Nefertiri neared the men her foot caught an errant fold in the carpet and she tripped. Although she was able to catch herself before she fell, her circlet slipped from her hair and met the tiles in front of the throne with a clatter.

Hadamer leaned forward and picked the delicate crown up carefully. He held it up, and Nefertiri realized what he meant to do. She lowered her head, allowing him to place the crown upon her hair. She fought a shudder as his hands brushed against her, and she did not look up again. "Thank you, Hadamer," she said, "you are most kind."

"One of my better traits, I have been told." Hadamer sat down on the step, putting him into her field of vision again. "Even when some among us do not deserve such kindnesses," he added. 

"I would expect nothing less from my future husband."

His voice was bitter, betraying something less like hurt feelings than hurt pride. "Have you decided to deign to become my wife, then, Nefertiri?"

"It would be my honor, Hadamer," she said, through gritted teeth. The men looked vaguely confused at her unexpected pronouncement for a moment, but Ramses quickly recovered and ordered celebratory wine brought from the kitchen. The room thundered with jubilant support for the happy couple, but the noise was mostly lost to Nefertiri. 

And as Ramses and Hadamer accepted the congratulations of the court, no one seemed to notice the single tear that trickled slowly down her cheek. 

~*~*~*~

ONE WORD: REVIEW :):):):):)


	26. It All Ends Today

Title is from Moulin Rouge....ah oh... Also, a surprise in this chapter concerning one of the characters.... And we're almost to the end!!! Thirty chapters in all, I'm pretty sure. Thanks to everyone for still being here. Your encouragement means so much to me, and it's why I do this! A couple of quick (I promise:) notes--Craklyn! I DO remember you! Glad you're back:) and Alli, I loved your comment about Rick showing through Rai's character. I love it when little things like that fit so perfectly and I don't even originally mean them to:) Anyway, love to y'all and enjoy number 26. ~Buffgirl

Chapter 26

It All Ends Today

It was a sharp pain in her head that woke Nefertiri. It faded to a dull ache as she sat up, eyes catching sight of the gown that hung in front of her wardrobe. Her wedding gown. The last rays of the setting sun hit the opulence of the golden fabric that was to represent the happiest day of her life, almost blinding her with the gown's brilliance. Tomorrow...she was supposed to be wed. 

But no, tomorrow, she would abandon everything she'd ever known to save her child, a soul she'd never met but loved more than life itself. Tomorrow, her world was to end. 

Or perhaps, she noted, it was to end earlier than that. This was not going away, no matter how much she wished it would. Yesterday the physician had told her the headache was simply stress, that she just needed some rest. Nefertiri knew better, but she had kept her mouth shut as an obedient princess should. Ramses was beside himself with superiority as he supervised the wedding plans, and Hadamer had been just as bad. Nefertiri had begged off most of the events with the excuse of her headache, shutting herself in her room to await her liberation from this disaster she called her life. 

No. Even if she wanted to accept the fate Achsu-rai had concocted for them, the gods apparently had other plans. She could not stay here any longer. She did not want to be alone. 

Tahir stifled a cry as he wound the bandage around the cut once more, as snugly as he could to staunch the newly opened blood flow. In the past two days it had clearly gotten worse, irreversibly, he knew. A scimitar wound would have been a highly suspect thing, anyhow, subject to explanations that he would not live to give. He wondered if Ramses even knew the old man was still alive. Tahir had lain low the past few days, not seeing anyone but the princess. She needed the companionship anyway, for she had been in a poor state since the announcement of her marriage. It broke Tahir's heart, to watch his princess deteriorate in such obvious suffering. 

"Tahir?" came her voice, raspy with days of shed and unshed tears. He hastily wrapped his tunic around the bandages, covering them from her sight, before turning toward her. 

"Nefertiri," he said, "is something wrong?"

"I have to see Achsu-rai. Please, take me to Achsu-rai."

"Princess, it is not yet time. I can't get you out of the palace alone."

"I know a way. Please, Tahir," she begged. "I need your help."

And so the two set off in the dim twilight. She was visibly fading, and as he supported her Tahir could feel his own strength weakening. He did not ask her again what was wrong. He knew she would not tell him, and guessed that the truth was something he did not want to hear. 

Once out of the palace and into the open air, the princess seemed to relax. She breathed deep, taking in the simple beauty of the rolling sand and endless sky. "I love the desert," she said. "It's so much a part of me, I would feel incomplete without it."

"The desert is life, no matter how much the Nile professes to be our savior," said Tahir. "The sand has a special magic about it, and though it may betray you, it has a way of working it's way into your soul."

Nefertiri smiled, knowing the truth of his words as well as she knew her own name. "Tahir, I need you to do me a favor."

"Another? If you insist."

She did not smile this time, for she sensed the gravity of this one last favor, and knew it could only be undertaken by the one person she had faith in more than anyone. "Achsu-rai gave me something once," she said. "It was his mother's. Her most treasured possession, and now mine." She slowly slid the ring off her finger, feeling its comforting shape once more before pressing it into Tahir's hand. "I could not bear to lose it, and I know they would take it from me when they find...when I am dead."

"Oh, Nefertiri--"

"Tahir, please. If the ring fell into the hands of my brother or Hadamer I could not bear it. Most would probably throw it away; it has value only to me."

Tahir held the ring closer to his failed eyesight. Even in the darkness it inexplicably gleamed with an ethereal glow. "What would you have me do with it?"

"Keep it safe for me. Please. One last favor for your princess."

"Anything for you, dear Nefertiri." Tahir slipped the ring into his pocket and gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. As they walked ever closer to what Tahir feared would be the site of Nefertiri's last breaths, he could not bear to break her heart. He knew what little time he himself had left, but he would do whatever it took to keep the ring safe while he was still in this world. 

Achsu-rai had not slept. Only with exhaustion, he suspected, would dreams take him to a place where he did not see her face when he closed his eyes. It was better this way. He wouldn't let her die because of him. He was not worth that, but she was. Nefertiri was worth everything, and to give it all up for her, for their child, was a small sacrifice. _Seven souls, struck down...one survivor, to tell the tale..._

Their last conversation replayed over and over in his mind without his will. Everything she had told him about the oracle, the terrible truths that Nefertiri seemed so sure of, echoed back and forth no matter how much he tried to shut them out. 

Khalil had checked in every so often, occasionally muttering something like, "It will get better. Once she's really gone. You just need time." Time! Achsu-rai had all the time in the world, an entire life, stretching out before him like a blank canvas. A lonely, wretched life, never touched by such a thing as happiness. Yes, time. His gift to Nefertiri, to their child, his own curse. He might never know his child, he might never again hold the woman he loved, but they'd be safe away from here. They would live. 

When the very woman that plagued his mind appeared in the doorway, at first he wondered if he was hallucinating. Noting only briefly how pale she looked, it took all his self-control not to close the distance as she walked slowly toward him. "What are you doing here?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice from cracking. "I said I'd come get you after dark."

"I understand now," said the princess, ignoring Achsu-rai's question. "I understand what she told me." 

"Who?"

"The oracle. I understand now why you've cursed me."

"I didn't--"

"Shh." She put a finger to his lips. She half-expected him to move away, but he didn't. "It's not your fault. You didn't know. No one could possibly have known."

"What are you talking about?"

"Is it safe there?"

"Is what safe?"

"The Bracelet. If I can no longer be its guardian, I want it to be safe."

"You and I are the only ones who know where it is. No one will ever find it."

"Good," she said, relief showing clearly in her voice. "It will be safe until we have use of it again."

"You are never going near that thing again. It will only cause us more pain, and I have sworn to protect you. I will not let it ruin you."

"You also swore to love me." Her voice was serene, unemotional, as if she knew something he didn't. 

"For all eternity," he said, conceding to the painfully obvious fact. "But duty comes before everything."

"Duty to me, or to your people?"

"I will let neither of you perish because of my mistakes." 

The throbbing of her head was making it hard to think. She closed her eyes, for the light of the single burning torch only intensified the pain. "I am already dead." 

"This is not the time for metaphors, Nefertiri. This is life." Achsu-rai took her chin in one hand, willing her to open her eyes. She did, after a moment, surprised at his touch but nonetheless grateful for the gesture. He loved her, she knew that, always had. Even with the end that she knew was coming, somehow the thought, meaningless as it might have been, comforted her. Achsu-rai leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then took one last look into her beautiful eyes, for he knew he would never have the will to look into them again, and began the endless walk to the door. 

"It is the truth," said the princess. Suddenly without his presence, without his touch, she felt drained of any strength she had ever possessed, even in her already weakened state. Her limbs felt strangely heavy, and she had lost the strength to follow him. "Please don't let me die alone," she whispered, so that he almost thought he'd mistaken her words. "I don't want to die alone."

Achsu-rai paused in his stride, but forced himself not to look back. "Our child will be with you when I cannot."

"It will be too late." Ever so gracefully, she sank to the floor. "She's killed me." 

He looked, and his heart shattered. 

~*~*~*~

Do I even have to tell you to review? Please do :)


	27. As Desperate an Execution

A quick note: Come on guys, you think _that_ was the death scene? 26 didn't have near enough angst and heartbreak to be **_the_** death scene! That's what 27 is for:) I now realize that perhaps the last bit was a little confusing, but it all becomes clear in this chapter. Think back to the banquet, the goblet, the wine...

So....Oh my goodness. Here it is. The chapter you've all been waiting for. I've rewritten it about a million and a half times, so appreciate it, damn it! :):):) And we have another Shakespeare title, from a beautiful speech by Friar Laurence. I LOVE doing that! Hey, that reminds me of my new fic which will be going up shortly.... Anyway, for the moment let's concentrate on _this_ fic. Let me know what you thought of it, please. Really, PLEASE:):):)

Chapter 27

As Desperate an Execution

"What happened, Nefertiri?" Achsu-rai asked, laying her gently on the cot. The physician entered the tent at that moment and shooed the Medjai to the side. 

"I drank it," she mumbled, not quite conscious. "At dinner. Anck-su-namun put something in father's cup, I drank it." 

"Why would you do such a thing?" 

"Why would she wish that on my father?" Nefertiri continued. "On anyone? How could she hate him so much?" 

"Save your breath, dear," the physician said. 

"I just wanted to protect him. I didn't hate her, I, I didn't--"

"Hush, Nefertiri," Achsu-rai commanded, and she fell silent, letting the physician examine her without another word. She looked so tiny, huddled into a ball on the rickety cot, almost defeated. Achsu-rai had never seen her like that, like she'd given up. After a few minutes, the doctor stood and gestured Achsu-rai toward the tent entrance.

"What's happening to her?" Achsu-rai demanded, as soon as they were out of earshot. 

"A slow-acting venom, I think," the physician suggested. "It must have been festering for days, even weeks. With this sort of poison..." he trailed off. 

"What are you saying, Dasid?"

The intensity of the Medjai's words scared the doctor a little, though he knew that not answering wouldn't get him any farther away from this tent. "It is literally eating her up on the inside...There's nothing I can do."

Dasid shrunk back a bit, anticipating Achsu-rai's surely dangerous reaction to the news, but the Medjai simply swallowed and said, "How long..."

"I've seen it go as long as a month. Probably a few weeks. Even if she were to survive, the child--" Here he paused, giving Achsu-rai a look that the Medjai did not notice. "The child is miscarrying. There's nothing I can do for him...or...for the princess."

Achsu-rai took a deep breath, attempting to clear his head. "You can go now."

"We'll just, uh, notify Ramses then? We should get her to--"

"No. No one will be notified, least of all Ramses."

"But, I, uh--"

"Khalil!" Achsu-rai called through the tent flap, and his brother came running. "Make sure our dear physician Dasid does not leave the camp." Khalil, throwing a fleeting look back to where Nefertiri lay, pulled the man away. 

Achsu-rai made his way back into the darkened recess of the tent and sunk to Nefertiri's bedside. He took her hand and immediately her eyes fluttered open. "Achsu-rai," she managed to breathe. She snuggled into his arms as if his touch were her very lifeblood. "Please don't leave me," she whispered. 

"Never, I promise. Never."

"I was afraid I wouldn't get to say goodbye."

"It's going to be fine, we're going to get through this. You're strong, we can--"

"No," she said firmly, with a finality that sent chills down his spine. "There's nothing for it."

His sheer helplessness weighed down on his limbs, crushed his chest as though he were drowning. A tear rolled down and off his cheek, landing with a splash on Nefertiri's face. He kissed it away, the salt bitter against his tongue. "There has to be."

"Don't argue with a dying woman, Achsu-rai. Cry for me if you must, but don't argue with me."

"Argue with you? An impossible task to begin with, my love." 

"Love?" In contrast to her earlier composure, her voice cracked as she spoke, and in his arms she seemed as small as a child. "You still love me?"

"How could you doubt such a thing?" The great warrior felt the tears threatening again, stronger this time, and he pulled the princess ever closer. 

"You would do anything for me, then?"

"Just ask."

Nefertiri reached a hand down and around his waist, grasping the throwing knife that hung at Achsu-rai's side. Its cold metallic edge sliced the air as she slowly slid the blade out of the sheath. She wasn't suggesting... "No," Achsu-rai whispered. "No, no, no..." 

"Anck-su-namun cannot win," she insisted. 

"I don't care! She's dead, it doesn't matter anymore."

"I am dead, too, Achsu-rai."

"No. I won't let you leave me, not like this."

"I can think of no better place to spend my last moments than in your arms. Will you send me away only to learn of my death days later, and know that I was alone?"

"You will never be alone. I will always be with you, no matter where you are."

"But I _am_ leaving, my love. We can't change the truth, no matter how desperate the wish. I want to do it on my own terms."

As if it were one last burst of will, she was once again the princess he knew, strong-minded to a fault, and he knew it would not be easy to dissuade her. But he had to. He would petition the gods themselves for her right to live, if that was what it took. He'd do whatever she wanted, he'd leave this place in a heartbeat. He'd do anything. "You can't leave me, Nefertiri. I need you. I need you. We'll run, you and me, you'll get better and then we'll--"

"Achsu-rai, not even the gods can separate us. This is not goodbye. Have you lost your faith in fate?"

"Nearly," he confessed. 

"Don't." Nefertiri raised a weary hand up to caress his cheek. She could barely see him anymore through the cool indigo fog that crept in and around her senses. "Have faith that we will meet again, and fate cannot help but comply. Fate has more in store for us, but we will find our way through it. He will help us."

"Who?"

"Our child." 

Achsu-rai could no longer resist the tears as he clutched at her cold hand, searching for the tiniest bit of hope. "What if all we have is now?"

"Then we must make the best of it." Achsu-rai once again became aware of the blade Nefertiri still clutched between them. It gleamed in the light of the one torch, almost seeming to mock him. He wrapped his hands around hers, attempting to pull the blade away from her, but she held fast to it. "Please," Nefertiri whispered. "This is how it has to end. I'll do it myself."

"No, you don't have the strength."

"You do." 

He couldn't let her waste away like this, watch her as she faded through the weeks, look on helplessly as their child left them before he'd had a chance to take a breath. They probably wouldn't let Achsu-rai be with her; in a few hours they would notice she was gone and would eventually find her. He couldn't help but feel a bit selfish for thinking such things. Nefertiri was the one who was dying. He realized as he looked into her glistening eyes that he was dying right alongside her. The only way he could have gone on was knowing that she was still alive, safe, though he might never again be with her...

"This isn't really the end, you know," she said, as if to convince him. "Wherever we go, whether it be heaven or hell...you'll be there when I wake up."

He couldn't live in a world that had ripped her away from him. Achsu-rai came to a decision, and she saw it in his eyes. 

"I love you," she whispered one last time, and as soon as the words were formed, there also ripped from her lips a short, strangled cry. Her limbs slackened, her head dropped gracefully forward to lie on his shoulder. 

His hands were immediately covered in her blood; his fingerprints left sticky marks on her shoulders as he laid her body gently back on the cot. The knife had gone straight through her heart, killing her almost instantly. Her death seemed too crude, the blade too harsh, for such a graceful being. Achsu-rai still gripped the handle of the knife but couldn't bring himself to pull it out of her chest. For a moment he had the irrational thought that maybe they could take it all back, that maybe they were only dreaming, but the blood that soaked his beloved's gown had already sealed her fate. Achsu-rai leaned down and kissed her eyelids closed, her skin so cold against his lips mere moments after her death. 

Death. She was gone. Forever. 


	28. Paid in Full

Thanks to...mystery, o'connell's_mummy_girl, ruse, redlady, mija, sare, allibabab, nora, asilin, craklyn, solaris, marxbros, dylan (what a great explanation of the appeal of romantic drama...loved that!:), seletha, star (if you _had_ actually killed satine, you would have been in trouble;), natters, myth (everyone here has to be a little weird;), katie, and dancinevy...

This chapter is actually brand spanking new, it was only recently added. Originally (like, when I was planning six months ago) this went a completely different way, and then I actually wrote it and the plot-point went down with very little fuss, but recently, being the generous writer that I am, I decided to drag the angst on for just a bit more, just for you lucky readers! :) Enjoy.....

Chapter 28

Paid in Full

Evelyn opened her eyes, taking a moment to adjust to the sudden brightness of the lamps. She slowly dragged her aching body up into a sitting position from where she'd fallen on the floor of the library. The library. Her library. Their apartment. Cairo. Rick. 

She stood, slowly, taking care not to fall over in the process, and took in her surroundings. As she looked at each object, each chair, each book, they slowly filtered back into her memory, one by one, until the deluge was almost too much to bear. She knew this library like the back of her hand. And yet she felt as though she'd been away for so long. With the library there flowed another set of memories right alongside, teasing, tormenting...

_"This is not goodbye. Have you lost your faith in fate?"..._

"No!" Evelyn cried, at once not sure why she had done so. The room seemed to roll beneath her feet as she placed one in front of the other. A few steps away sat Ardeth, leaned up against the wall, apparently out like a light. Evelyn checked to make sure he was breathing, then tried shaking him, but he remained in his coma despite her efforts to wake him. "Ardeth?" she whispered. "I need you to tell me what's going on. Please, what's going on?"

A reply was not forthcoming from her friend, and so Evelyn stood again and made for the door. Trying to steady the panicky beating of her heart, Evelyn stumbled along the darkened hallway until she'd reached the doorway to her bedroom. It was halfway open already, and she pushed the door forward to reveal the her husband unconscious in a chair across the room. The sight of him made her head spin, and she had to grab the doorframe to keep from completely losing her grip on her surroundings. He was sleeping, probably still under the spell, probably still living and breathing in two separate worlds, alive. 

_He came to a decision, and she saw it in his eyes..._

Evelyn turned quickly and raced back down the hallway. She barely noticed Jonathan as she passed him, out cold and collapsed in the foyer. Filled only with thoughts of escape, she flung open the front door and cast herself out into the night and the blissful uncertainty of the storm. 

Achsu-rai wondered how long it would take for him to die this way. If he simply didn't breathe, would his body step in and force his lungs to work, or could he sit here, silent, unmoving, until death overtook him? He forced a shuddering gulp of air into his lungs, shooting pain throughout his chest and tightening his throat. His entire body felt as though it could crumble into nothingness at any moment, his head heavy, his joints so weak that he could not raise them. It was as though he had died, but his mind remained active, torturing him, punishing him. Had their lives been so worthless, after all, to deserve such a wretched end? Had his mistakes been so grave that the only payment the underworld would accept was the death of his lover? 

Her..._death_. He couldn't comprehend the word. It seemed an imaginary state. As sure as he sat next to a corpse, in the next moment he was sure she would open her eyes, breathe again, live. It would have been a peaceful scene if not for the blood, staining her clothing, the bed, his hands, crimson and absolute. 

Sleeping, and now departed, she had always looked so innocent, more so than she ever had when she was awake. He had known two people living in the same body. One, a princess, submissive and dutiful, hiding a second, true persona that had only appeared when she was sure no one else was watching. In death, maybe she could finally be free of the constraints of the mortal world. Maybe the underworld could see what only Achsu-rai had been witness to, a passionate, courageous human being with her own life to live. She had to be living, somewhere, somehow, even a little bit. He had to believe that, or their world was pointless. Or their love had meant nothing. She had meant nothing. It couldn't be true. 

A noise at the entrance alerted him to the presence of another, but Achsu-rai's frozen limbs could not bring themselves to care. His ears, still attuned, caught the faint sound of footsteps scuffling slowly across the dirt. A hand griped his shoulder, but Achsu-rai did not react. It was not a threatening hand. So they had not come to drag him off and kill him. He couldn't decide if he was disappointed or not. 

"She was dying, wasn't she?" the man said, and Achsu-rai looked up to see Tahir hovering next to him. 

"She's dead," the Medjai replied, choosing not to give Tahir the luxury of an explanation. 

"She wouldn't tell me what was wrong."

"And I suppose she told you everything."

Tahir paused. "She told no one everything." His hand went automatically into his pocket, fingered the treasure there. Should he give it to this man? This monster, who had clearly had a bigger hand the princess' death than he would like to admit. Tahir told himself he could have stopped it, he could have saved her, but as soon as he'd stepped into the dreamlike atmosphere of the tent, he'd known that this man who had been her end had also been her destiny. If Achsu-rai couldn't have saved her from it, no one could have. Tahir removed his hand from his pocket, leaving the ring hidden in its depths. "Tell me it's not your fault and I'll believe you."

"Why shouldn't all the blame lie at my feet? Someone has to pay for what's happened here."

"They're going to come, you know. Ramses is going to figure out where she went and they'll come for you."

Achsu-rai stood. "Not if I go to them first." With one swift motion he had reclaimed the blade from the princess' chest, placing it in its scabbard and brushing past Tahir. "Oh," he said, pausing at the entrance to the tent. "Do something for me, would you?"

Tahir should have been afraid of this Medjai, but somehow he knew that Achsu-rai was not a killer. He loved her, and that was all Tahir needed to know the truth. "Why not?"

Achsu-rai removed a golden object from his cache of weapons. He tossed it at Tahir, who caught it with awkward hands, causing it to fall to the ground. As he bent down, he noticed the little circle on top of the scepter-like object had broken in the fall, but Achsu-rai seemed not to notice. "What is this?" Tahir asked. 

"My father told me to leave it with someone I trust. Can I trust you, Tahir?"

Somehow, as he held the scepter, Tahir sensed a frightening power pulsing beneath its shining, innocuous surface. "Yes," he answered, his gaze still caught by the scepter. "You can trust me."

When Tahir looked up, the Medjai was gone. 

It was clear that the man was a Medjai, for he wore the black, forbidding ceremonial mask of the god Anubis. What was unusual was that he was wearing it in the middle of the day, striding into the ballroom as though he had every right to be there. The whispers started as he walked through the crowds, parting them in a clear-cut line, slowly making his way to the head of the room. In his hand he held an ax, sharp and shining in the bright torch lights of the court. 

Though no one had the remotest guess to his identity, as Hadamer spotted him coming, his stomach sank to his feet. "What do you want?" he asked, before even Ramses could speak. 

"Hadamer," snapped the pharaoh. "Stand down, this is not your concern until I tell you it is." He gestured toward the nearby Medjai in case the man became violent, but they recognized the man in the mask and did not move to protect the pharaoh. "Now," said Ramses, "what business do you have here?"

The man's hand rose slowly, pointing with the sinister ax toward Hadamer. "To the death," he said, his words muffled but ringing clear as a bell in Hadamer's ears. 

Giving him no chance to acknowledge the summons, the masked man charged Hadamer, who only barely managed to swipe a weapon from a close by Medjai to defend himself. The two men fought their way across the room in no time at all, while the crowd stood stock still, not sure what to make of the sudden spectacle. 

Hadamer dove nearly into the wall to avoid a blow, then rolled out of the way as the ax clanged on the floor. "Who are you?" he screamed, nearly out of breath but with enough air left to voice his frustration. "What is this madness?"

The man in the mask did not reply, he only came after Hadamer again as he stood, giving him barely enough time to recover between each attack. The masked man swung, Hadamer parried; the masked man charged, and once more Hadamer blocked the blow. Hadamer was clearly at a disadvantage, though this was not due to a lack of fighting skill. But the masked man knew what he was fighting for. He had a purpose in this, and whether Hadamer liked it or not, it's end would be carried out to the death. 

Somehow Hadamer managed to duck another of the masked man's strikes. "Who are you?" he tried again, carefully staying just out of range of his wrath. "It was you, wasn't it? You wrote that letter to the princess."

Still the man did not reply, but Hadamer pressed onward with his accusations. "You think killing me will earn you the right to have her? You think as soon as I'm out of the way, they won't put you to death anyway?"

Finally the man paused, hand going to his mask. He lifted it from his head and tossed it aside, the revelation of his identity drawing gasps from the crowd. Achsu-rai's eyes shone with such hatred that Hadamer involuntarily took another step back. His face was set into a different mask now, this one utterly human, though hard and determined. And yet, Hadamer detected something else within the Medjai's demeanor, a hint of emotion hiding deep within his eyes...

Pain. Almost as though he were grieving. 

"No," said Achsu-rai, finally. "I don't plan on living without her." 

With this his other hand went to his belt, drawing a blood-stained knife and slashing at his opponent with it, the ax quickly following. While Hadamer ducked from the path of the larger weapon, the smaller knife found his face, dragging a distinct, burning line of pain from right eyebrow to chin. Hadamer knew immediately that the knife had caught his eye, but he did not allow the stinging pain or the sudden lack of vision in one eye to deter him. 

He attacked this time; the Medjai easily deflected it, but was not quite prepared for the second strike of Hadamer's assault. Through the blade Hadamer could feel the sickening slice of metal through his opponent's skin. Someone in the crowd screamed, and then the room was deathly silent as the two men contemplated the damage. 

Achsu-rai was aware that he had been hit, but he didn't feel anything. He looked down and saw blood. His blood, red, shining against the brown that already flecked his skin. 

_Her_ blood. 

Just as Hadamer began to think that maybe he'd delivered the final blow, his Medjai opponent straightened and swung the ax again. It came within inches of the man's head, but the near deadly accuracy proved to be Achsu-rai's downfall. Hadamer scrambled away...

...and Ramses' sword came at the Medjai over the stroke of the falling ax. 

Achsu-rai's ax slipped uselessly out of his hands and clattered across the floor toward the anxious spectators, causing most of them to scatter. It hurt this time. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, with each breath more aware of it's painful beating, pushing blood through his veins and out. Blood pulsed underneath his fingers as he covered the wound more out of reflex than any hope that the bleeding would ever stop. Then his hands fell away; his limbs suddenly too weak to support themselves, and as his knees buckled he wondered vaguely why the room seemed to spin at such an odd angle. 

"Guards!" yelled Ramses, stumbling away. "Seize the traitor!" 

But they did not move a muscle toward their leader, fallen, broken, dying. He was a weak picture at that moment, kneeling on the floor, bloody, defeated, but he was still their leader, and the Medjai would recognize that loyalty before anything else. Only one stepped out of the crowd and made his way to Achsu-rai. Rather than subduing him, however, he merely sunk to the ground beside his brother and held him in his arms. 

It took a moment for Achsu-rai to focus his hazy eyes on his brother's face. "She's dead, Khalil. She's dead."

"I know." Khalil was dimly aware of blood, of injury, but the scene seemed so surreal that his mind would not wrap around the truth of his brother's last breaths. "I...Tahir told me."

Achsu-rai squeezed his eyes shut, as if to block out the sight of harsh reality. "I shouldn't have done it."

Khalil felt an anger rising in him at his brother's actions. Yes, he should have known how this confrontation with Hadamer would end. Maybe he had. "Forgive me, brother, but attacking Hadamer was indeed very stupid."

"No." Achsu-rai shook his head, but the movement pained him. "She should still be alive. I shouldn't have done it."

Tears choked Khalil's airway and blurred his vision. Khalil had done more than hear it from Tahir. He had seen the body; he knew what his brother had done. "Then why did you?"

Achsu-rai shook his head again, just slightly, as though it was all the strength he had left. "She asked." His eyes wandered to the ceiling, contemplating what eternities lay beyond it. Would he see her in heaven? Hell? Where did such people go, dark, undeserving; in love with a gentler, beautiful soul. Was love enough? Would it ever be enough for a man like him?...

_Nefertiri_...

Khalil watched as his brother's eyes closed, felt his breath stop. He motioned to the others and three of them lifted their leader's body from the ground, carried it out through the dazed crowd and past the pharaoh and his general without a word. No one made a move to stop them. 

Across three millennia, a second soul awakened from a deep sleep. 

~*~*~*~

Two more. RSVP if you would, it makes me happy:):):) ~Buff


	29. And Then There Was One

Sorry. When I'm on break, I never get online, and when I do, AOL blows. You're all so patient. Thank you:) Love y'all to pieces:) I'm thinking about another epic romance, so that may be coming eventually. _Maybe_. Also, ever wonder how the ring and scepter made their way into Beni's bag to play their roles in 'Live and Let Die?' In this chapter you shall find the answer...;) ~Buff

So my theory, if Giles is in fact not really Giles but The First's evil manifestation of Giles, is that he told Annabelle to run. Also, take Buffy to the hospital. And knock off the psychological crap. Does anyone remember when Buffy was funny?

Chapter 29

And Then There Was One

Rick took several deep breaths, using the time to orient himself to his surroundings. Everything seemed so cold, hard, bland... Nothing seemed right. It was as if he'd been dropped into an unfamiliar house and been expected to know which cupboard the champagne flutes were in. 

Yet, as his eyes wandered to the arm of the chair he sat in, the fabric snapped to life in his mind. A geometric pattern, blue and white against a backdrop of pale yellow. He remembered buying the chair, at Paine's. There had been a matching couch, but something had happened to it in the ensuing years. Early in the morning, they'd gone to the docks to the pick up the furniture they'd had sent from Boston. She'd hated the fabric when it had actually gotten here, but he'd convinced her...

_Her. She. Evelyn. Evelyn. Evelyn..._

Memories passed in and out of his mind in a confusing stream until they came so fast he could not register which was which. He tried to grab onto some thread of the story, but that just jumbled the scenes even more, scrambling two different lives into one confusing mass. Then, all at once, he was able to pick out a single moment...

_...As soon as the words were formed, there also ripped from her lips a short, strangled cry. Her limbs slackened, her head dropped gracefully forward to lie on his shoulder. His hands were immediately covered in her blood..._

No! No, it hadn't been real. Nefertiri was dead, yes, but then by all rights he should be, too...but..._Evelyn_ was alive, _Evelyn_ had to be...wasn't she? Had he lost her again? The more Rick tried to seize the answers, they floated further and further out of his reach...

__

...His limbs seemed tied to the ground as he saw her turn and look her killer in the eye as the woman slowly, agonizingly, pulled the long, sharp blade out of her stomach. The woman and the priest walked arrogantly away, leaving her all alone to sink miserably to the warm red sand...

Suddenly everything became quite clear, his mind flowed more lucidly, and two beings snapped neatly into place beside each other. Though three months of memories separated him from this life, Rick remembered this afternoon like it was playing right in front of him...

__

"Let me get this straight," Rick said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "You're suggesting that 3,000 years ago, I--being a Medjai and all--took a knife to Princess Nefertiri--you--whom he--sorry, I--supposedly loved beyond all reason?"

"That's pretty much it," mumbled Evelyn. "I hadn't actually said it all out loud yet, but--"

"No, no, it makes perfect sense. What is it you're accusing me of? Are you making a citizen's arrest for a murder that happened 3,000 years ago?"

"No! God, would you just listen to me for a second, Rick?"

"I just can't believe you'd say something like that! First of all, it's completely illogical, and second of all, how could think for a second that I would ever...do something like that to you?"

"I was just suggesting--"

"That I murdered my wife."

She gave him a look, conviction lighting her eyes, and he knew immediately he'd gone too far. "No," she said. "I'm not."

"Good."

"No." She shook her head, looking sadly at the floor, not at him. She started to cry. "They weren't married."

They'd fought for a long time. Ardeth had barged in. Nobody had won. And now, the truth, vivid, bright, almost more real than the fabric on the chair, glared at him in her absence. She was alive, he was sure now, but...had he lost her anyway? 

It took all of Khalil's self control and the strong arms of several Medjai for their leader not to go flying at Hadamer with a scimitar when he entered the camp. What right did that man have to be here? If it had been up to Khalil, he would have been dead in an instant, but some of the more mature Medjai held him back with reason...and some cautionary words. 

Hadamer walked up to the newly named Medjai leader very civilly and looked him up and down. His face was now marred by a long, thin scar running down the length of his face, his right eye swollen shut. "Hello, Khalil."

Khalil did not reply, only glared at the man from beneath lowered eyebrows. 

Ignoring the lack of response, Hadamer continued. "Is she dead?" he asked, and for a moment something like real human emotion flickered across his face. The illusion, however, was quickly covered by the reality of what Hadamer really was. 

Khalil suppressed the anger boiling inside his chest and replied, "So, what happened to your eye?"

He had no time to react before Hadamer was upon him, holding a knife to his throat. "Care to try that again, Medjai?" he spat. "Care to join your brother and his whore in the underworld?"

In a flash Khalil had freed himself and turned the weapon upon Hadamer. "You are already on thin ice," he growled, enjoying the look of shock on Hadamer's face. "Insult them one more time, and you will be dead. You're already a marked man, Hadamer, so I suggest you tread carefully in my presence. Now...do you have anything else you would like to say?" 

Hadamer's smug expression returned, and he shrugged away from Khalil and the knife. "The pharaoh requests a audience with you, Medjai. Go."

Khalil pushed past him and followed his instructions without a word. Someday...the time for revenge would come. 

The pharaoh was surrounded by palace guardsmen, none of them Medjai. Khalil himself had brought Et-nan and several others, and they entered the ballroom slowly. He forced his eyes to stay at the head of the room, on Ramses, his brother's killer. If he didn't concentrate, they would be drawn to the floor, to the red-tinted tile, to the spot where Achsu-rai's life had ended. Khalil could not help but feel, deep in his heart, that that single moment had forever altered the destiny of their people. 

"Tell me where my sister is," said Ramses, when the group of Medjai had drawn near. "Tell me or I'll have you--"

"Two Medjai leaders in one week?" asked Khalil. "That would be impressive even for you, pharaoh."

"You flirt with treason, Medjai."

"And you tempt my sword."

Ramses narrowed his eyes, stepping down a stair. "You would break your sacred oath to have petty revenge? You are more immature than I had imagined, Khalil."

"And you are more vile than I ever thought a man could be." Khalil, too, stepped forward. "You sign a young girl's life away on a whim, then you're surprised when she has a will of her own? You give no regard to others' happiness, then stand by and watch as the people closest to you self-destruct. And then, when your own sister and her child are dead, you see fit to murder our leader, my brother, the one thing that ever made her happy. You take pleasure in other people's pain, Ramses. It takes the focus off of your own."

"If your brother stood before me today, he would see a fate worse than mere death. I would have seen to that."

"You would have cursed him as you cursed Imhotep? You would have unleashed another scourge on an innocent world? On an innocent man?"

"She's dead, isn't she?" Ramses almost laughed, turning away from the Medjai. "How is it that one family can have so much bad luck in so short a spell? First my father, now my sister..." He almost looked wistful now, but there was no trace of sadness in his voice. "She was a foolish girl. Used and abandoned... I thought she was smarter than that. I only tried to right her mistakes."

"You just don't get it, do you?"

"Oh, I get it." Ramses smiled then, a smile so disconcerting it rivaled even Hadamer's smirk. "You are hereby stripped of your command, Medjai. You have proved to be more trouble than you are worth."

"This is not the answer. You cannot just banish me and expect it to make everything right--"

"No." The grin became more sinister, delighting in the turmoil he would inflict with mere words. "All of you. I want you gone. I want you out of the palace; I want you off my lands."

Khalil took another angry step forward, but so did the guardsmen surrounding the pharaoh. "All right. We will obey you, but only this one last time. We will spend our lives cleaning up your mess, for the Medjai are an honorable people, and we will not let the innocents suffer. Not again."

"Get out of my sight, Medjai."

Khalil motioned to his men, and they began the walk to the door. "This isn't the end, Ramses," he said, joining them. "Petty revenge it may be, but...revenge is revenge. You can be certain of that."

They walked out of the throne room, and in their absence, victory somehow rang a little more hollow than Ramses had thought it would. 

The light was barely enough to see by, but in the flicker of the few candles, Khalil was diligent in his work. His delicate brush strokes crisscrossed the paper over and over again, using page after page as he detailed tragedy, heartbreak, horror...and hope. A tale of a maiden and her prince, brought together by fate and torn apart by circumstance, but never truly gone. 

As he carefully laced together the stack of papers, Khalil knew that it would always be true, as long as he remembered them. They had to hope for the future, otherwise...how could they ever redeem the past?

The cave had been cut into the cliff face by a thousand years of wind and sand. No one would think to look inside, for Khalil had deliberately chosen a most vacant corner of the desert, where no man would ever tread. Alone in an expanse of nothing, it was notable only for the jutting outline of stone that rose from the flatness of the wasteland around it. They would seal it with boulders, too, so as to make the blocked entrance look natural. He would have no thief disturbing their resting place, not ever. 

Et-nan placed a hand on Khalil's shoulder as the young leader surveyed the landscape of sand from the entrance. "Khalil?" he said. "Would you like to go inside before we close it up?"

"Yes."

Khalil followed Et-nan down the winding hallway and under the uneven ceiling that forced them to duck sometimes to avoid hitting their heads. The outside of the cave hid its size, for nature had been helped along by centuries of Medjai slicing a labyrinth of passages and rooms into the stone. Khalil had chosen the burial chamber himself, tucked away past fake doorways and empty rooms. A secret resting place for two lovers who deserved everything, and had received nothing in return. At least he could do this for them, if nothing else. 

Khalil peeked over the side of the sarcophagus, unable to resist the pull of curiosity and the desire to see his brother one last time. He choked back a scream as he made out the two bodies, unrecognizable in the dim light. He could just see the glints of gold that formed the headdresses they wore, the one gift of worldly goods that the Medjai been able to provide for their journey to the afterlife. Something, however, was missing...

"Where is the ring?"

Et-nan looked over the edge of the sarcophagus. "What ring?" 

"Nefertiri wore my mother's ring, what have you done with it?"

"I don't know what you mean. They are as we found them."

"What about the scepter? That is missing, too."

"I don't remember seeing a scepter among their...possessions."

Khalil sighed. "Fine. It doesn't matter anymore. Seal the sarcophagus. And...place this in the back of the tomb." He handed the bundle of papers to Et-nan. 

His leader's reverence for the seemingly innocuous documents made Et-nan nervous. "What is it?" he asked. 

A small smile reached Khalil's face as he turned and began to make his way out of the burial chamber. "Their story. So that...somewhere, somehow...it will never be forgotten."

The blood had begun to soak through his robes soon after he'd set off, and eventually he could do nothing but try to ignore it. A ride through the desert had not been the best idea for a man in his condition, but it was all he could do. The _last_ thing he could do, for them. 

Tahir had always possessed a strange quality that made people trust him, even royals, which was rare. Before making his way into Nefertiri's confidence he had been the Queen's greatest friend, even as the Pharaoh and the court had turned from her in her dying days. Nefertiri had then rescued him from the dregs of the kitchens, and he had pledged to be forever faithful to his princess. 

Though his thoughts had long become foggy with the blood he had lost, Tahir still managed to extract from his memory the correct path through the maze of corridors. Cold winds crept along his spine as he walked, and little skittering noises raced through the walls, but he paid them no mind. 

The brightness of the room made him squint a bit as he stumbled past the heaps of wealth. He drew out of his pack two items and placed them on a random pile of trinkets. Then, sinking to the welcome blanket of soft sand, Tahir closed his eyes and succumbed to the darkness that had threatened for so long. 

The ring lay there, sparkling merrily in the light of the dying torch, waiting for eternity to arrive. Nearby, the spear also waited patiently for its destiny. They waited....

~*~*~*~

Oh my, only one more chapter left. Tell me what y'all are thinking:)


	30. I Heard You

Chapter 30

I Heard You

_Two beings floated gently in an indigo fog. Something in them awakened, and they were separated. "In time, my love," one of them whispered, and their memories faded away. _

Whatever had just happened, Rick knew one thing: he had to get out of this chair. He stood and stretched, joints cracking and popping after sitting in the tiny armchair for hours. He wondered what time of night it was, for the view out the window was dark now, marred only by wispy gray storm clouds that were quickly creeping over the horizon. He felt like it had been an eternity. 

The first person he came upon was Jonathan, and Rick was suddenly grateful that he'd been in a chair and not on the floor. His brother-in-law was already awake, blinking in the soft hallway light like he was staring into the sun. "What are you doing on the floor?" Rick asked, even though he already knew. 

"Uh..." Jonathan rubbed his eyes, squinching his forehead like he was trying to remember. "Well, I had been drinking," he muttered. "But I...I walked in the house and I heard...chanting. I remember sort of blacking out, falling, but then...I was awake, and...everything was...different." He sighed, not meeting Rick's eyes. "Some hangover." 

Rick stood, offering his arm. "Tell me about it. Are you...okay?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Jonathan's mouth, and he finally looked up. He reached out to grasp his brother-in-law's shoulder. "I'm alive."

"Thank God for small favors."

Jonathan took Rick's proffered assistance and stood on wobbly legs, seeming a little older than he ever had before. "She's not here, is she?"

"I think she ran."

"She's got a head start on you then. Go."

Rick turned away from Jonathan, feeling as though his head was swimming about in uncharted seas with no one but sharks for company. "I don't think I can."

"You're going to let her run?"

"If she wants to."

"You have to go find her. You have to go now."

Simple, unabashed anger suddenly rocked through Rick, anger at the world, at the gods, at himself, at her, at Jonathan. As his fist connected with thin plaster, crumbling it to dust by force of rage, the anger almost seemed to flow into the wall and evaporate as quickly as it had come. Jonathan was right. He hated it, he hated him for saying it, but he was right. "What if..." Rick trailed off, looking distractedly at bleeding knuckles that now pulsed with a vague, far-off pain. "What if she doesn't want me to find her?"

Jonathan couldn't believe what he was hearing. They were insane, the both of them. He'd go after his sister himself if he could; he wouldn't leave her out there alone after all this. Yet at the same time, Jonathan knew it wasn't he that had to go. "You have to find her," he said again, "or everything was for nothing. It all comes back to you two, Rick. You can't throw that away. It would disappoint the universe."

Rick didn't allow himself to think anymore, he just forced his feet to move toward the door before he changed his mind. As he reached the front door he paused. "Jonathan... Thank you."

"No problem, my friend... And Rick?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you... I mean, why did you trust me? Knowing me, probably shouldn't have."

Rick grabbed a jacket from the coat rack, looking back at Jonathan. "You haven't made me regret it yet."

He slipped out into the night. The misty air immediately chilled his bones, shocking a mind that had for so long resided under a burning sun. He had to remind himself that he had not actually been there, that the whole time he'd just been in his own bedroom, forced to relive days he certainly didn't choose to remember. 

But...maybe they _needed_ to remember. Lessons learned, mistakes repented. Amongst the tragedy there had been a life. Happiness. Love. Her. That was what he had to hang onto. He couldn't lose her again, no matter what mistakes they'd made in another existence. 

He ducked his head against the increasing storm as the wind whipped about the deserted Cairo streets. Anyone might have thought he was walking blindly, for his wife had certainly left no indication of where she was running to. 

Rick knew. And if he was wrong, he'd try another place. Then somewhere else. He'd find her. She couldn't hide forever. 

Not from him. 

Jonathan leaned against the wall, taking another minute to steady himself. His head still swam a bit, and he wondered whether this was something the others were going through, too, or if his evening out earlier had worsened his physical state. 

He took a tentative step forward, then another, congratulating himself on not falling over in the process. He made slow progress through the apartment, checking each room. Most of them were empty. Alex had been taken over to a friend's house earlier in the day, wholly unaware that the rest of his family had, for all intents and purposes, been in a completely different world for the past several hours. 

In the library Jonathan found Ardeth, still apparently caught up in the selfsame world. Jonathan had a feeling it would be useless to try and wake the Medjai, so he didn't bother. Instead he sunk into a nearby armchair, hand going absentmindedly into his pocket out of habit. 

Jonathan froze. Without taking the object out of his pocket he knew what it was; he knew the feel of the hard metallic circle and the placing of the scratchy gemstones as well as he knew the back of his hand. Why it was there and where the hell it had come from was an entirely different matter. At the moment, however, he had more important things to worry about. 

Ardeth opened his eyes quite suddenly. His gaze was a bit wild until it landed on Jonathan. Seeing someone he recognized seemed to calm him, though his brow furrowed in confusion. "What..."

"...the Hell just happened to us?" Jonathan nodded. "Yup, that's pretty much what I was wondering, too."

Ardeth felt as though he had all the puzzle pieces lying in front of him, but there were far too many to fit into a coherent picture. "Was I...asleep?"

"Looks like it. We were all pretty out of it, I think. Care to explain exactly _why_?"

"I didn't expect the spell to..." He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "...affect me. To affect you. It was a long shot with them." Ardeth looked around, taking in the library from his low vantage point. "I'm on the floor."

Jonathan fought the building urge to grab the Medjai and shake some sense into him. "What did you do?"

"The spell has been around since the Book of the Dead was first written. It is fairly simple, but... powerful. It only tells you what you need to know at that moment in time. And once it's been cast...you can't ever take it back."

"So what are you saying?" Jonathan thought of the ring in his pocket and swallowed the fear that accompanied it. "This isn't over?"

Ardeth ignored the question, still lost in his own thoughts. "When did you wake up? Did...Tahir...pass away?"

Jonathan hesitated. Like all memories, it was already beginning to fade, but the sand and the darkness were still very real in his mind. "Yes."

"I didn't. What if...there's more to it?"

Jonathan shrugged. "I can't recall anything of related import in the dynasty. Ramses led the country on a pretty typical destroy and conquer mentality for a long, long time."

"We've proved tonight that the common legends don't tell the whole story."

"Do you have any more stories? Anything else your people know about that time period?"

Ardeth shook his head. "No. Our stories include no one by the names of Tahir or Khalil. I was not aware of their existence. Even Achsu-rai's name had been lost. We'll probably never know everything."

Jonathan had never seen Ardeth at such a loss before, and it scared him. He was even teetering on the verge of admitting it. "Maybe we're not meant to."

"Fate was telling them something they had to know. The rest..." Something else occurred to the Medjai then. "Rick and Evy--are they okay?"

Now Jonathan was the uncertain one, as much as he wished he could give his friend an answer. "I hope so... I hope so." 

The restaurant was full of people, but Rick paid them no mind as he charged through the back and up the stairwell. As he emerged on the open roof and realized it was deserted, his heart sank. As he turned to leave, something caught the corner of his eye over by the fire escape, and it soared. 

The rain had slicked her hair against her head, and she wasn't wearing a coat. Shivering in the wind, she stood alone under the turbulent sky, looking out over the city. She seemed not to notice him. Rick resisted the urge to run toward her and instead took a cautious step forward, then another. She never turned her head toward him. When he'd reached her, he took off his jacket and placed it around her, but the moment it was on her shoulders she stepped away from him. 

"I should have picked a less obvious spot," she said, and there was no trace of anything in her voice. 

"I would have found you anywhere."

She took a step backward, seeming to realize fully that he was actually there. "What happened to your hand?"

Rick took a step forward, she took one in the opposite direction. "Nothing."

"When I woke up...you weren't there," she whispered. 

"I was in the other room, I--"

"That's not what I mean." A timid hand reached for him, but she seemed to change her mind and took it back. "She knew," Evelyn said, continuing to back away from her husband. "She knew, she always did, she never doubted him, she never... She never doubted _you_."

"Evy, I--"

"No!" It was then Rick noticed the tears glistening in her eyes, and their depths reflected the city lights of Cairo like watery pools. "When I woke up," she continued, "I looked at you, and I... I doubted you! For this horrible, horrible moment I doubted you, I doubted your love, I doubted everything! And I hate myself for that!"

Images attacked his mind against his will. A blade glinting in the torchlight, the glow of her eyes fading into death, her blood...everywhere... "After what happened... I can't begin to..." His muscles twitched with the memory and he shuddered, the very air around him seeming to scream with anguish. 

She looked as though she were thinking much the same thing, and she shut her eyes tightly against it. "You did nothing but what I asked. And I repay you by..." She turned her face to the sky, asking the heavens what she couldn't ask him. "How selfish could I have been? How could I have asked you to do that? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I accused you of--"

"No, it's my fault. I was supposed to protect you, and I failed. I've failed so many times, I can't believe you keep trusting me. I can't believe we've gotten as many chances as we've had."

Evelyn shook her head sadly. Was it regret? Rick couldn't tell. "We'd both be dead a hundred times over if not for each other."

"Who says we haven't died a hundred times?"

"What?"

Rick had to force the words out, but as he spoke, they came faster and faster of their own accord. "Evy, this doesn't just happen everyday. This thing that we have, we've screwed it up before, we know that now. But we still have it. Doesn't that say something to you? You said it yourself. That wasn't the end. We said as long as we believed, we'd get to choose the fate we wanted. I'd choose you every time, Evy, I'd choose you if it meant my own death. You're my fate, Evy. I'm yours."

Evelyn pulled the jacket tight around her. Knowing it was his gave her comfort, and with that thought something else struck her, too. "Your love is the only protection I ever needed. Just you. It was always enough for me, and I..."

Rick took another step. She was close enough to touch now, and he longed to put his arms around her, still needing to make sure she was standing in front of him. That she was alive, that he'd somehow managed to find her again amidst the chaos and pain that surrounded their destinies. 

She looked at him finally. The tears had escaped the confines of her eyes and they trickled down her face in jagged little lines. "I wouldn't trade our lot for anything," she said. "I wouldn't trade you for a million lives, a million deaths. Never."

Rick could say nothing but, "I love you." It was all he needed to say to mend whatever harm had ever been done, because it was the truest thing either of them had ever said. Evelyn took a step forward and was immediately wrapped in his arms, safe, relieved beyond all measure just to know he was really real, that he still loved her and wouldn't ever stop. He repeated it until he ran out of breath, and when he paused she placed a finger to his lips and echoed his statement. 

"I love you, too."

"I never really said it, not to your face. Always, though, I said it to myself, when you were asleep, when you weren't listening, when your back was turned."

She gripped him even tighter now, terrified that the gods might realize they'd stolen time they didn't deserve and decide to take it away from them again. "I heard you. A million times I heard you."

The storm picked up speed then, but the two didn't notice. Back at the apartment, friends awaited their return, but they weren't thinking about anyone else. Just two people standing on a rooftop, oblivious to everything but the embrace which no longer promised death, but hope. 

Far away, the gods smiled, and the storm carried on. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Whoa.....done. Nine months and nine days after first posting!!! THANK YOU so much to everyone for your reviews and encouragement!!!!!!! I love each and every one of you, and y'all know who you are:) Thanks for your patience!!!!!!! A special merci goes out to my beta Mythica:) Also, look for a new big epic tentatively titled "Mortal Soil" coming up soon. Maybe sequels to this one, too (obviously the door is open:) I hope y'all enjoyed "Cost of a Glance!" Please let me know what you thought of my little story:) Bonsoir......Buffelyn:):):)


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